T or C State Representative Named Guardian of Small Business

Date: August 24, 2020

Rebecca Dow led fight against health insurance premium tax increases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jason Espinoza, State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]

SANTA FE, N.M., Aug. 24, 2020—The nation’s voice of small business on Friday awarded State Rep. Rebecca Dow its highest honor by naming her a Guardian of Small Business for her leadership and voting record during the 2019-2020 session of the New Mexico State Legislature.

Dow was presented her Guardian award at NFIB-member business A&B Drive-In, a family-owned and operated establishment since August 1994. Started by Efren and Bernice Flores, and named for their children Anthony and Barbara, brother Jimmy Chavez Sr. has been with A&B since its establishment. Like so many small businesses they Invest in local nonprofits, schools, and booster clubs.

“She was one of the most outstanding and outspoken members of the Legislature when it came to small-business issues,” said Jason Espinoza, New Mexico state director for NFIB, which named Dow a Guardian of Small Business. Particularly noteworthy, according to Espinoza, was her work in stopping a tax increase on health insurance. “When legislation was introduced that would have resulted in New Mexico businesses paying the highest health care premium insurance taxes in the country, she sponsored a floor amendment to exempt small businesses and gave a passionate floor speech on the issues.”

Every elected official claims to be a friend of small business, but NFIB’s congressional and state legislative voting records separate the doers from the talkers. For the 2019-2020 session, New Mexico state representatives were graded on their votes on eight issues (five voted on in both chambers, three in the House only). Dow earned a perfect, 100-percent, pro-small-business voting record. A brief description of each bill and every lawmaker’s vote on them can be read here.

Dow’s 38th State House District includes parts of Grant, Hildago, and Sierra counties. She and her family make their home in Truth or Consequences.

Espinoza praised Dow for a commitment to small business that transcends her work in the Roundhouse. “She’s unwavering in her commitment to the economic vitality of small business,” he said. “She met with our Leadership Council during Small Business Day, hosted a small business roundtable with us prior to New Mexico’s Special Session earlier this year, and has been providing links to COVID-19 small business resources to her constituents to ensure they are aware of the programs and resources available on the federal level.”

“During the pandemic, and resulting shutdown of indoor dining, she also worked with restaurants in her rural communities to help pitch tents so that restaurants without indoor-dining would have a chance of surviving with patio dining. Dow is a champion of small business.”

Keep up with the latest on New Mexico small-business at www.nfib.com/new-mexico.

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For more than 77 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

NFIB New Mexico
505-417-4001
NFIB.com/NM
Twitter: @NFIB_NM

Left to right: State Rep. Rebecca Dow, Anthony Flores, Bernice Flores, Jimmy Chavez Sr., Barbara Chavez

 

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