Texas Association of Business

E-mail Bill Hammond

 

While many states across America face budget deficits, Texas is looking at a balanced state budget. Texas has a strong economy and consistently ranks as the top state in economic development according to respected national surveys Texas has the second highest number of employees in the labor force Forty percent of all new jobs created in the U.S. in 2007 were created in Texas. Texas is also the number one exporting state in the nation

In order to continue moving our state forward on a positive track, Texas must address the important challenges ahead. These challenges are pronounced in education and also include a shortfall of skilled workers in the labor force and the demand for more technical workers and college-ready graduates from our education system.

In addition to a strong education system, TAB supports the following legislative initiatives to sustain economic and job growth:

TAB's Economic Development Priorities for 2009

In addition to a strong education system, TAB supports the following legislative initiatives to sustain economic and job growth:

Economic development funds. Support state-appropriated economic development funds for rural areas.

Electric industry deregulation. Support competitive electric markets in all areas of the state to spur fair competition in the best interest of all consumers, energy producers and businesses.

Electric costs. As Texas continues to grow and in order to ensure that business can continue to expand and attract new investment, the state must consider the overall, delivered cost of electricity and the establishment of regulatory policies that allow for appropriate capital investment in Texas’ electric infrastructure. Electricity cost and a reliable electric grid system are key inputs to the success of Texas businesses.

TAB supports policies that:

• promote a balanced approach to cost efficient expansion of the electric grid system by regulated utilities to improve and expand the system in order to maintain reliable service.
• implement new technologies to encourage energy efficiency, and meet the state’s growing energy needs.
• allow for appropriate expansion and address transmission congestion, as well as "right size" investments so that current customers are not unnecessarily burdened.
• support policies that incentivize generation being built in places that minimize the overall cost to produce and deliver the electricity.
• oppose policies that work to increase electricity costs without a corresponding benefit, or that favor one technology or group of customers over others, because such policies result in a less favorable business climate for Texas.

 

Energy and economic development.

• Support healthy economic growth in Texas by promoting the production of adequate supplies of all forms of energy at competitive prices
• opposing increased taxes and fees on energy sources
• eliminating tax inequities between energy sources
• discouraging the use of subsidies
• encouraging conservation of resources, and
• balancing environmental concerns with energy production and usage.

 

Sales Tax for Economic Development.

• Support continued use of a locally approved 1/2 cent sales tax collected by cities to fund economic development efforts.
• Oppose efforts to reduce local control of these funds or efforts to limit the uses of these funds. Because these funds are local funds, taxpayers should retain the right to manage their use so long as they are used for economic development purposes.
• Support the removal of county average wage restrictions that limit a local government’s use of these funds for local job training purposes.
• Support efforts to clarify that the purpose of the sales tax funds is to serve as economic development tools and to prevent raids on the funds for projects that are not related to economic development.

 

Skills Development Program.Support increased funding for the Skills Development Program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission. Maintain Skills Development Fund grants at the Texas Workforce Commission to improve workforce training.

TAFA. Expand the ability of the Texas Agriculture Finance Authority (TAFA) to finance economic development activities in rural areas. Streamline TAFA to make it more “user-friendly.”

Tax abatements and other economic development incentives. Continue to support local control and flexibility in the use of tax abatements, tax increment financing, reinvestment zones and other incentives to promote economic development and job creation.

Additionally, support the ability of local taxing districts to phase in tax abatements. In recent years, Texas has seen its competitiveness fall in certain industries. Lastly, encourage the legislature to evaluate Texas’ competitiveness and the role that taxes and other incentives play.

Additionally, support the ability of local taxing districts to phase in tax abatements. In recent years, Texas has seen its competitiveness fall in certain industries. Lastly, encourage the legislature to evaluate Texas’ competitiveness and the role that taxes and other incentives play. Tax incentives. . Support legislative efforts to provide tax incentives to encourage business participation in education initiatives.

 

Texas Department of Agriculture. Provide additional resources, including authorization and funding for travel, to the Texas Department of Agriculture as it addresses the economic development needs of rural areas.

Telemarketing. Support efforts to develop additional jobs while maintaining the more than 300,000 jobs held by Texans in the telemarketing industry. Support better enforcement of existing fraud and consumer protection laws while opposing efforts to impose additional regulatory burdens on businesses that use telemarketing. Support adequate resources for law enforcement and various state agencies to eliminate fraud and provide protection to Texas consumers and businesses, while not placing undue restraints on legitimate telemarketing businesses.