FEATURED: Rep. Armando “Mando” Martínez, D-Weslaco, poses outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Friday, April 21, 2023, with the files of three of his legislative measures, known as bills, that had been approved by the Texas Legislature.
Photograph Courtesy REP. ARMANDO MARTÍNEZ FACEBOOK
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Rep. Armando Martínez, who continues to work to bring public law school to the Rio Grande Valley, graduates from groundbreaking online law school program through St. Mary’s University (LAW)
By CATHERINE DEYARMOND
Growing up in Weslaco in the four-county Rio Grande Valley, Armando Martínez always wanted to go to law school.
And as a state representative, Martínez continues to fight in the Texas Legislature to create a public law school for his home region – an effort that has seen the Texas House of Representatives approve his vision for deep South Texas, but which has failed to pass the Texas Senate.
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB2088
In 1998, after earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas-Pan American, which later merged with the University of Texas at Brownsville to form the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Martínez hadn’t taken the LSAT and decided to put off law school for one year.
(Editor’s Note: The LSAT – Law School Admission Test – is a standardized, multiple-choice exam required for admission to law schools in the U.S.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=what+is+the+LSAT?&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
Already a volunteer firefighter who was certified as an emergency medical technician and a paramedic, he decided to take the civil service exam for the fire department in Weslaco. With the top exam score, Martínez took the job, thinking it would be a good way to save money for law school.
“I started with the fire department, and I never left,” Martínez explained. “I moved up the ranks pretty quickly and became a flight paramedic and an instructor. Life and family took over. The opportunity to go to law school never came after that.”
Although Martínez hailed from a family with a state legislator, county commissioner and city mayor, he said he never dreamed of running for office. However, his experience in the fire department resulted in a realization that would lead him to politics.
“It bothered me that patients would have to travel hours in order to get specialized care,” he said. “For example, a person with a head injury or with a cardiac issue would end up in the emergency room because there weren’t specialists nearby. We would have to transport them to the airport, load them on the aircraft, fly them out and then drive them to the hospital. It could take eight to 12 hours to get them to definitive care. That is a lot of time.”
RUNNING FOR OFFICE
Martínez said the more patients he transported, the more medical needs he saw throughout the community. After serving on a statewide trauma advisory council and teaching advanced life support to health care professionals, he started thinking he could do more.
“In 2003, I told my parents that I wanted to run for the Texas Legislature,” he said. “As always, my parents were supportive. I ran for office at age 27 with the support of my family, friends and fellow firefighters. They all helped me to be elected.”
He took office in 2004 as the state representative for District 39, representing Hidalgo County. He is now in his 11th two-year term, which ends in 2027.
During his 21 years as a legislator, Martínez said he has focused on public education, health care accessibility and affordability, and job creation. While in office, he earned his Master of Public Administration at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
The busy husband and father also has his own small construction business, instructs and certifies firefighters, and is a commercial pilot.
REALIZING AN OLD DREAM
However, it was his work as a state legislator that led him back to the idea of attending law school.
“I have constituents who come in my office and are looking for assistance because they don’t know where to go,” Martínez said. “Often, they come to me with issues that need to be handled through an attorney, but, unfortunately, they don’t have the financial means to do it. They don’t know who else to call, and it becomes very difficult for them. For me, the ability to assist the community in this manner really attracted me.”
Martínez said when he heard that the St. Mary’s University School of Law was offering the country’s first ABA-approved Online J.D. Program, he knew it was time to fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer.
“With the program being fully online, I could get it to align with my work and legislative schedules, plus my home life,” he said.
TRAILBLAZING A NEW PROGRAM
Martínez started in the new Online J.D. Program’s first cohort in Fall 2022. He is one of eight students who completed their J.D. degree requirements in December 2025. He crossed the stage to accept his degree on Saturday, December 12, 2025.
“My favorite part of the online program was having classmates from different walks of life from across the country,” he said. “They all have jobs, all have families. We took the courses very seriously, and even though we weren’t in class together, we were very supportive of each other and had study sessions. We called each other to discuss certain chapters and subjects.”
Martínez said having professors who were engaged and supportive of their success was crucial.
“Our professors were extremely dedicated, and they worked hard to teach us everything we need to know,” he said. “I thank all of them for helping us learn and assisting us as we achieved our shared goal.”
After enjoying Commencement with his family and cohort members, Martínez headed back to Weslaco to study for the Texas bar exam. After passing the bar, he is interested in going into general practice so that he can assist fellow Rio Grande Valley residents with their legal issues.
Dean Patricia Roberts, J.D., called it a privilege to have Martínez in the inaugural online J.D. class.
“He has taken full advantage of all that a St. Mary’s legal education has to offer, including joining us in Innsbruck, Austria, for our summer program,” Roberts said. “His colleagues have benefited from his unique experiences, and he has championed the law school with the Texas Legislature and others interested in a high-quality online legal education.”
The School of Law is proud of Martínez and the initial online cohort members who will graduate a semester early, she said.
“These trailblazing students have enriched our community and helped inform the program’s best practices,” Roberts added.
MARTÍNEZ’ PROPOSED LAW SCHOOL FOR RIO GRANDE VALLEY
During the 85th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, Martínez filed House Bill 2088, which proposed allowing the governing board of a university system to establish and operate, as a professional school of the system, a school of law in Cameron County or Hidalgo County as the governing board considered appropriate. In administering the law school, the governing board could prescribe courses leading to customary degrees offered at other leading American law schools and could award those degrees.
“Filed” is used to refer to a measure that has been introduced into the legislative process and given a number.
A bill is a type of legislative measure that requires passage by both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives and action by the governor in order to become effective. A bill is the primary means used to create and change the laws of the state.
In the Spring of 2025, Martínez – who was the author of House Bill 2088 – explained to the House C0mmittee on Higher Education on the need for a public law school in the Rio Grande Valley.
As author, he was the legislator who filed House Bill 2088 and guided it through the legislative process.
His remarks follow:
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“House Bill 2088 is a bill that allows for the establishment of a law school in the Rio Grande Valley. We have passed this bill out of the (House of Representatives) chamber during the past few (regular sessions). It has been held up in the Senate over other reasons.
“But the Rio Grande Valley, as you know, is one of the fastest-growing regions in Texas, yet it remains underserved in terms of access to legal education and services.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: As of 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the total population of the Rio Grande Valley to be approximately 1,433,308. This estimate covers the four-county region comprised of Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, and Willacy counties. By 2030, based on the more conservative estimates of population growth, the Rio Grande Valley will have a population of 1,480,000 to 1,500,000 by 2023.)
“Currently, I’m obtaining my law degree through St. Mary’s University, which has done a tremendous job. But we see that students in the Rio Grande Valley have to travel hundreds of miles to attend a law school, which creates financial hardships. It had been very difficult for me to do that because of family, because of work, in trying to get to a law school,” he noted.
“This would make this available to all our students in the Rio Grande Valley. Multiple studies have been conducted that support the fact that the Rio Grande Valley is underserved and underrepresented.
“Even with the creation of a medical school that we did 10 years ago, UT-Rio Grande Valley only has 15 doctoral programs, which is considerably low in comparison to other UT System schools.
(Editor’s Note: A doctoral program is the highest university degree, focusing on advanced, original research or professional practice in a specific field, requiring rigorous study, in-depth analysis, and culminating in a major dissertation or project, preparing graduates as expert scholars or leaders. A law school is considered a doctoral program.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=how+many+doctoral+programs+are+provided+by+UTRGV?&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
“This bill requires the (Texas Higher Education) Coordinating Board, though, to determine the feasibility of a law school after a higher governing board decides to establish this law school.
“It is extremely permissive – that’s all it does. The Higher Education Coordinating Board must go in and do in and do a study for that.
“For this (85th Texas Legislature regular) session, we filed a rider that is contingent upon the passing of this bill.
(Editors Note: In the Texas Legislature, a rider is a provision, often unrelated to the bill’s main tope, attached to major legislation (especially the state’s budget bill) to add policy directives, restrictions, or instruction for state agencies. These can change permanent law, direct spending, prohibit certain actives, or mandate studies, effectively become law by tying them to crucial funding bills that are difficult to veto.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=what+is+a+rider+in+the+Texas+Legislature?&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
“House Bill 2088 is not a mandate, it does not rush a law school into existence. It takes into account whether there is a desire to open a law school, and whether funding is available to do so.
“That is why I say it is entirely permissive. With that said, if you look at the State Bar of Texas Department of Research analysis, Austin and Round Rock, when you consider the population density, Austin/Round Rock has one attorney for every 178 individuals.
“For El Paso, it’s one in every 671, Brownsville and Harlingen, the area where I’m from, including Mission and Edinburg, is one to 788 individuals. You can see the disparity and the need for a law school, and we are just asking for favorable consideration on this.”
On Friday, May 9, 2025, the House of Representatives, on a vote of 108 Yeas, 32 Nays, and 1 Present, not voting – with all Rio Grande Valley state representatives voting for the bill – approved House Bill 2088.
However, no action was ever taken by the Texas Senate on House Bill 2088, and the Valley law school measure did not get full approval by the Texas Legislature.
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A bill analysis of House Bill 2088 by the House Research Organization – which is the nonpartisan research arm of the House of Representatives – provided the following additional background on Martínez’ bill.
Subject:
Authorizing the creation of a public law school in the Rio Grande Valley
Committee:
Higher Education — favorable, without amendment
Vote 9 ayes — Wilson, Howard, A. Davis, Lalani, Lambert, V. Perez, Shaheen, VanDeaver, Ward Johnson 0 nays 2 absent — Shofner, Tinderholt
Witnesses For — (Registered, but did not testify: Tracy Johnson, DFER TX; David Albert; Bianca Arvin-Eagle; Isaac Chavira; Steven Deline; Maximiliano Prado)
Against — None
Background:
Concerns have been raised that the Rio Grande Valley is underserved in regards to legal education and legal representation.
Some have suggested that providing for the establishment of a public law school in the Rio Grande Valley could address this issue and increase the opportunity for students in the area to attend law school.
Digest:
HB 2088 would allow the governing board of a university system to establish and operate, as a professional school of the system, a school of law in Cameron County or Hidalgo County as the governing board considered appropriate. In administering the law school, the governing board could prescribe courses leading to customary degrees offered at other leading American law schools and could award those degrees.
The governing board could assign responsibility for the management of the law school to a general academic teaching institution in the university system.
Establishment of a law school under the bill would be subject to the availability of funding, either through appropriation or from another source.
The governing board of a university system that intended to establish a law school would be required to notify the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). If THECB received notification from more than one governing board, THECB would have to determine which of those governing boards would be allowed to establish a school.
THECB would have to base the determination on the need for a law school in a geographic area, potential student demand, available system resources, the feasibility of the specific proposal of each system, and other criteria THECB considered appropriate.
Before the governing board established a law school, it would have to request THECB to prepare a feasibility study to determine the actions the system would have to take to obtain accreditation.
The bill would require THECB to deliver a copy of the study to the governing board and to the chair of each legislative standing committee with jurisdiction over higher education.
No state funds could be appropriated for this purpose for a state fiscal biennium ending on or before August 31, 2031. The bill would take immediate effect if finally passed by a two-thirds record vote of the membership of each house. Otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2025.
According to the Legislative Budget Board, there would be costs related to the establishment of the law school beginning in 2032.
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David A. Díaz contributed to this article. For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).
