Beyond that, there are many reasons to oppose placing an additional 25 percent of Dona Ana County in this restrictive designation. The big three are border security, flood control and ranching. The NMBC thanks Frank DuBois, former deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Interior, legislative assistant to Senator Pete V. Domenici and served as the New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture from 1988-2003 for the above information. Read the entire Frank DuBois article here.

Urgent call to action: This issue is of statewide concern and we need your help. Please write or email President Obama and oppose a Presidential Proclamation creating a 600 acre national monument in Dona Ana County . And, make sure you copy Senators Udall and Heinrich as well as Rep Pearce. Contact President Obama, Senator Heinrich, Senator Udall and Representative Pearce today!

Please send copies of your letter or email to NMBC so we can effectively monitor this action and keep you informed.

Important Note to the Las Cruces City Council

Dona Ana County voters gave you a clear message when they went to the polls last Tuesday, 7/30/13. When given the choice of raising the sales tax, they said, “NO”.

As a city council member, you might want to consider what the voters said before you raise the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) for the phase out of the Hold Harmless.

(NOTE: NMBC has written about its concern over this issue before, but following is a recap. When the state repealed the tax on food and medicine several years ago, it promised to hold NM cities and municipalities harmless by providing them with temporary monies to make up for the lost tax revenue. This Hold Harmless provision was never meant to be a permanent fix. In the last legislative session, legislators decided to phase out the Hold-Harmless over a period of 15 years for larger cities and municipalities. There would be no change in the amount provided for the first three years, then the subsidy would gradually be phased out over the remaining 12 years. With the phase out, legislators allowed cities to raise their sales tax, if necessary, to replace the temporary Hold-Harmless monies.)

As a Las Cruces City Councilor, you have the authority by law to raise the tax immediately, but you may not have the approval of your constituents. If you like your job, you may want to think twice before raising your constituents’ taxes. The same voters who just told you where they stand on raising taxes will soon go to the polls and let you know where they stand with you keeping your job.

Hold Harmless Tax is Now On the Table in Rio Rancho: Early voting is in process for Rio Rancho voters to decide the fate of a higher education tax. Final in-person vote is August 28, 2013. A ‘YES’ vote will decrease the tax by 1/8 cent and voting ‘NO’ will keep it the same. The Rio Rancho City Council has pledged to replace that tax at the same 1/8 cent rate dedicated to police and fire.

Here’s the kicker on how they will do it: The Rio Rancho City Council will raise the 1/8 cent tax using the Hold-Harmless law just passed (See Las Cruces above). The NMBC is adamantly opposed to this for the same reasons: 1) It was not the intent of the legislature for the tax to be used this way; 2) There is no lost revenue for three years; 3) Voters have no say over the use of this tax – either the amount or how it is used.

Voters may not have a direct say on the Hold Harmless tax but they DO have the right to decide who represents them on their city council!

2012 Hero Update It sounds like 2012 NMBC HERO Andy Nunez has plans for improving our state and is making an important announcement TODAY. Former State Representative and Mayor of Hatch, will hold a press conference at the Secretary of State’s office in Santa Fe today, August 6th, 2013 at 10:00 am. According to information out yesterday, Mr. Nunez will officially change his voter registration and then make an announcement about his future endeavors on behalf of this great state.

The NMBC knows Mr. Nunez well, a native New Mexican who has always been dedicated to the well-being of our state. He served as a state representative from 2001 through 2012 and is currently serving as the Mayor of Hatch. We can’t wait to see what his plans are!

SAVE THE DATE – Farmington BASH, September 5, 2013

Contact the New Mexico Business Coalition at (505) 836-4223 or nmbiz@nmbizcoalition.org for more information.