New Mexico Candidates Propose Access to Capital, Tax Cuts for Small Businesses

The candidate elected as New Mexico's 27th governor will make history as the state's first female governor. Democratic nominee Diane Denish and Republican nominee Susana Martinez both offer plans largely focused on New Mexico's economic recovery and balancing the state budget. Denish's plan centers on support for small businesses such as greater access to capital and establishing a Federal Innovation Research Matching Grant program for small, high-tech companies. Martinez has proposed a variety of tax cuts and regulatory reform as well as a plan to revive the energy sector by encouraging producers to invest in new technology.

Diane Denish (D)
New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is focusing her economic plan on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs create jobs by increasing access to capital, providing tax credits to incentivize immediate job creation, and establishing a Federal Innovation Research Matching Grant Program. Her plan includes using "small amounts of public resources" to encourage private-bank financing, expanding a micro-lending program launched through the Small Business Investment Corporation, and investing in an online clearinghouse for businesses and lenders to connect. Denish proposes a small business tax credit equal to $2,500 for each job created during the 2011 calendar year available to businesses that have fewer than 100 employees or gross less than $1 million per year.

Denish wants to establish a matching grant program to assist small or startup companies that apply for federal partnerships to accelerate their growth. The program would provide matching funds to entrepreneurs who successfully develop applications for the SBIR and STTR programs. Denish points to North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida as models for offering this type of assistance.

In an effort to produce more opportunities for middle-skill areas of education and retain high-skilled workers, Denish wants to create the New Mexico Bridge to the Workforce scholarship for students who pursue a degree in high-demand areas such as manufacturing, health and biosciences, and energy and environmental technology. The scholarship, which is estimated to cost the state $3.6 million a year, would cover the cost of tuition at New Mexico's two-year colleges for the first semester. Upon completion of the first semester with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, students would be eligible to complete the degree with the lottery scholarship, which would pay tuition for the remainder of their semesters in community college.

Susana Martinez (R)
Susana Martinez, District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District in Doña Ana County, issued a plan to revive New Mexico's energy industry and position the state as a leader in this sector. Specifically, Martinez would reduce "unnecessary and costly" regulations on energy producers to encourage them to invest in new technology that will provide additional environmental protections. She also would reverse the pit rule, which she refers to as a scientifically unnecessary regulation that imposes an additional cost of $250,000 per well in New Mexico. To help improve the business climate, Martinez wants to streamline and expedite state government loan programs to small businesses.

In her economic recovery plan for New Mexico, Martinez outlines tax reform measures to make the state a more hospitable business environment. Measures include reforming New Mexico's tax structure by identifying and eliminating taxes that stifle job growth.