The new session of the New Mexico legislature convenes in less than two weeks and Santa Fe County lawmakers held a Town Hall meeting Wednesday to talk about what to expect.
About 50 constituents gathered at the Rancho Viejo Fire Station to hear from Senator Liz Stefanics, Representative Matthew McQueen, Representative-elect Reena Szczepanski and County Commissioners Hank Hughes and Camilla Bustamante.
The lawmakers talked about the upcoming session and issues ranging from what can be done with the $3.6 billion dollars in additional revenue to the proposed AES solar power farm.
Szczepanski says she is very excited about soon starting her first session as a representative and says she has several issues she wants to work on including on behalf of New Mexico’s creative industries.
“There are artists all over Santa Fe and all over the state that work at night on their artistic endeavors, go and do their day job. If we have sustained an effort we can turn that nighttime work into daytime jobs and actual real livings for families, she said. “We have a whole history of traditional crafts in New Mexico that have been passed down generation after generation and those are all things that we need to preserve and amplify as we build this new economy.”
Szczepanski will be the new Majority Whip in the House when the new session begins at noon on the 17th. She won the seat of former House Speaker Brian Egolf.
County Commissioner Anna Hansen will be holding a Town Hall meeting next Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 5:30 to 7:00 at the Nancy Rodriguez Community Center with State Representatives Tara Lujan and Andrea Romero.