The Laredo Chamber was well represented during Laredo’s call on Austin lawmakers recently. Chairman of the Board Ed Ramirez, Jr., Chairman Elect Willie Martinez, Board member Bill Green and president/CEO Miguel Conchas traveled to the State capital and joined a City of Laredo government delegation as they promoted issues of interest to the local community.
Of particular interest was a meeting with Jesse Ancira, Lead Counsel for Speaker of the House Joe Strauss. Local State Representative Richard Pena Raymond participated in this meeting which addressed concerns of interest to the business community, such as the negative image cast on border cities by rising violence on the Mexican side of the border. A topic that also merited varied discussion was proposed legislation to eliminate the use of manifiestos, which allow Mexican citizens to claim rebates on sales taxes paid. The Laredo Chamber made its position well known through State Representative Raymond that elimination of the manifiesto process would invariably have a negative impact on the border retail industry.
The Chamber group concluded their Austin whirlwind visit with a stop at the Laredo Day Reception hosted by the City of Laredo. This provided an opportunity for the Chamber representatives to further advance local business concerns with agency representatives and solons attending the event.
Chamber directors and officers attending events in the interest of the business community do so at their own expense.
The Laredo Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1915, is Laredo’s longest standing business organization. It is one of 16 chambers in the state of Texas that carries the distinguished U.S. Chamber accreditation seal, and only one of 6 with a 4-star rating. It currently consists of 750 members representative of all industries in the community. For membership information contact the Laredo Chamber at 956-722-9895.
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