NFIB Minnesota today announced the presentation of its Guardian of Small Business award to state Senator Michelle Benson (Ham Lake).

“I remember playing around on our family farm as a girl and seeing the NFIB plaque hanging on the wall,” said Sen. Benson. “At the time, it didn’t mean much to me, but as I grew I came to appreciate the vital role that small businesses play in the strength of our economy. Small businesses make up almost 98% of Minnesota’s employers. Nearly half of our workforce is employed by one of the state’s more than 500,000 small businesses. Their success is what drives our thriving economy.”

“Senator Benson is a real friend of small business, and we are happy to announce that she has earned the NFIB Guardian of Small Business Award,” said Mike Hickey, NFIB Minnesota state director.

With 10,000 members statewide, NFIB is Minnesota’s largest small-business group in terms of entities. NFIB gives out its Guardian of Small Business award at both the federal and state level to recognize lawmakers who have been supportive of small business on critical issues. Benson’s award was based on votes she took during the 2017-2018 sessions of the Minnesota Legislature.  She made many votes beneficial to small business including:

• Voted for a significant small-business property tax reduction that was signed into law which reduced taxes for the smallest businesses by 20 percent to 30 percent! The average business received a $700 to $900 reduction for taxes payable in 2018.
• Voted for a significant $1 million increase in the estate tax exemption that was also signed into law, which raised it from $2 million to $3 million per person.
• Supported a desperately needed 25 percent reduction in health insurance premiums in 2017 for those in the individual market that was also signed into law, and which made other critical insurance reforms to make the Minnesota market more competitive.
• Supported critical legislation that preempts local units of government from enacting minimum wages higher than the state’s, and from imposing other new mandates on local employers.

For more than 75 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 nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.