Rep. Jim Trujillo (D-Santa Fe)
STATE News:
…After 17 years of service to New Mexico’s working families, House Tax and Rev Committee Chairman resigns to tend to health and family
SANTA FE – After an accomplished 17 years of service, Rep. Jim Trujillo (D-Santa Fe) has announced his resignation effective today from the New Mexico House of Representatives.
The Co-Chair of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee, Rep. Trujillo was a stalwart for hardworking New Mexicans through the passage of tax legislation 2019’s House Bill 6, which closed loopholes to create sustainable streams of revenue for education, roads, and tax credits for those who need it most.
“Chairman Jim Trujillo is the embodiment of a servant leader whose life in public office has been defined by his commitment to working families across this state,” said Co-Chair of the House Tax and Revenue Committee, Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque). “Through his quiet and deliberate leadership, Chairman Trujillo has led some of the most consequential legislation in the past 20 years, including 2019’s tax reform bill. Thank you, Jim and Vicky Trujillo, for serving our state with such grace and compassion. You will be missed.”
“Chairman Trujillo’s legacy in the Legislature will endure for decades as a shining example of selfless public service and honorable work on behalf of New Mexico,” House Speaker Brian Egolf said. “Jim valued action over talk and always insisted that his colleagues remember constituents who needed the most help. It was because of Jim’s tenacity and focus that we were able to achieve passage of 2019’s House Bill 6, which achieved Jim’s overarching goals in tax policy: lower taxes for working families and greater fairness for all. As Speaker, I am indebted to the contributions Jim has made to our House and will greatly miss his knowledge, heart, and courage when representing the people of New Mexico.”
In 2017, while recovering from an aortic aneurysm, which resulted in his absence from much of the session, Rep. Trujillo returned to the people’s House to cast the deciding vote for House Joint Resolution 1 to greatly increase the state’s investment in early childhood education through the Land Grant Permanent Fund. After years of hard work and leadership to pass HJR 1, his vote represented a turning point in the state’s approach to investing in its youngest students.
Appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson in 2003 to represent House District 45 in Santa Fe, Rep. Trujillo would go on to be elected and serve for 17 years, becoming Chair of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee in 2017, then Co-Chair a year following.
Rep. Trujillo has stated that he is looking forward to spending time with his wife and family, and taking care of his health.
The Santa Fe County Commission will work to appoint a replacement to fill Rep. Trujillo’s seat to represent House District 45 for the remainder of the term, which ends January 2021.