Representative Martinez named Co-Chair of the Military & Veterans Affairs interim committee, and voting member of the Water & Natural Resources interim committee.

Las Cruces - After the adjournment of the special session in Santa Fe, legislators are quickly getting back to work as interim committee assignments have been announced. Despite the Governor's attempt to line item veto the legislative body, interim committees will begin organizing and meeting in late June and into July. Representative Rodolpho “Rudy” Martinez (D-39) has been named Co- Chair of the Military & Veteran's Affairs interim committee, which will be used as an opportunity to shape legislation and better understand the needs of Veterans and military personnel around the State. As a Vietnam Veteran, Martinez takes these duties seriously.

“Housing and Urban Development estimates that as many as 40,000 veterans in New Mexico are living on the streets on any given night. We need to find out why this is happening, and what we can do to make sure that our Veterans who made sacrifices for our country get the support they need.” Martinez stated. He went on that he looks forward to working with agencies across the state to protect Veterans and keep the military as strong as possible. “I will be traveling across New Mexico and organizing open meetings in order to make sure that we work together to solve our problems. If we work together, we can solve the homelessness problem while working with federal, state, and local agencies to make our military as efficient as it can be. I urge anyone with a background in military services to contact me so we can make these interim committee meetings as productive as possible and shape legislation that the rest of the country can use as a model to move forward. It can’t be overstated – we are stronger together.”

Representative Martinez has also been named a voting member of the Water & Natural Resources committee, a designee on the Legislative Finance Committee, and an advisor to the Health & Human Resources committee during the interim committee schedule, which goes into 2018. Martinez sponsored 8 pieces of legislation and co-sponsored 13 pieces of legislation in the 2017 Regular Legislative Session, which included a memorial to recognize veterans. Martinez served a 4-year term in the United States Air Force and currently serves as vice-chair on the House State Government, Indian & Veterans Affairs Committee.