Finally an ADVOCATE for Job Creators

Jon Barela

Capitol Report New Mexico - Earlier this month, a report was released by the New Mexico Economic Development Department concerning attempts to make the state more friendly to small business. It calls for revising or rescinding rules and regulations the department thinks are inhibiting small companies in the state as well as reviving the Small Business Regulatory Advisory Commission (SBARC) and establishing a confidential hotline allowing companies to file complaints about government permits and/or state agencies they feel are over-regulating. “We’ve got our fiscal house in order with a balanced budget and no new taxes,” Jon Barela of the Economic Development Department said Tuesday afternoon (April 19). “If we can get this regulatory reform in place … New Mexico will be extremely, extremely well-positioned to compete for jobs here in the next several months.” Gov. Susana Martinez has repeatedly emphasized her determination to improve the economic climate in New Mexico, often saying that “New Mexico is open for business” in speeches and news conferences.

She assigned Barela to lead a 90-day process looking to help small business and on April 1, Barela’s department released a 13-page report filled with recommendations. Among the more specific recommendations involved environmental policies. The report urges the state to become an “observer” in the Western Climate Inititiative instead of an active participant. Late last year, the Environmental Improvement Board – stacked with appointees from the Bill Richardson administration — approved a measure that would place a limit on New Mexico’s greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists embrace the idea but business leaders across the state have criticized it, saying the program puts energy-producting companies at a competitive disadvantage to other states. The report suggests the state should “move to more of a ‘wait and watch’ for the science status [of global warming] similar to states such as Utah, Washington and Oregon who are not part of the cap and trade program.” The report also recommends that state rules and regulations — even those beyond environmental concerns – should not be more stringent than federal standards. As you’d expect, environmental groups are not happy with the report. Read full story here: New New Mexico

Finally an ADVOCATE for Job Creators