Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Bill Richardson (Photo: AP)

AUSTIN - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will be honored by the Texas Legislature Monday for his many years of public service.

The Texas House will offer a resolution recognizing the former congressman, U.N. ambassador, and energy secretary.

Monday will also see two fundraising events for Richardson’s presidential campaign. In Austin, former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes hosts a midday gathering at Saengerrunde Hall. In San Antonio, former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros will be on hand to welcome Richardson for an evening event at the Plaza Club.

"I'm very proud of the fact that he's the first Latino to be running for president," Cisneros told the San Antonio Express-News.

Richardson has made plenty of news in his home state these past few weeks.

He told the Albuquerque Journal that he would sign into a law a bill that allows New Mexico residents suffering from certain debilitating medical problems to be state-certified for medical marijuana use to ease their symptoms.

"Is it risky? So what if it is risky. It's the right thing to do," Richardson told the paper. "Sure I'll catch national grief over this. But I don't tailor my style, or what I stand for, to primary states."

He has also signed into law a bill outlawing cockfighting in his home state.

On Saturday, Richardson said he would call New Mexico state lawmakers back for a special session to act on a highway package, ethics measures, crime bills, a domestic partnership proposal, and more. The special session starts Tuesday.

On a lighter note, Richardson signed into law a bill making the bolo tie New Mexico¹s official tie. Richardson wore a large, Indian-made bolo inset with turquoise and other stones when he signed the legislation into law. “It’s our bipartisan fashion statement,” Richardson said.

State Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez, D-Weslaco, has filed legislation this session to make the bolo tie the official tie of Texas.

On the presidential front, Richardson has said he would repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy towards gays in the military.

He has also said he backs California’s move to hold its presidential election forward to Feb. 5, 2008.

“I believe that this change is great for the west and a positive development for my campaign. I am confident that my message and strong record of action will resonate with the voters of California,” Richardson said, in a campaign news release.

“As a western Governor I deal every day with issues important to the region, fighting for equal rights, protecting our environment, and promoting aggressive renewable energy policies and energy independence. And like New Mexico, California is a diverse, multicultural state that will help the nominating process become even more inclusive and more reflective of America as it is today and will be in the future.”

A bipartisan group of legislators are trying to move Texas’s 2008 primaries forward to February.