Attracting Billion-Dollar Investments
Last week, the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 5. This program aims to establish a statewide economic development plan to keep Texas competitive in the global market. Representative Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), the author of House Bill 5, stated that “we’re no longer competing with other states and nations. We’re competing worldwide…This is basically going to be an economic development tool to continue to attract investments to Texas. ”
Speaker Dade Phelan also weighed in by saying “Under the Texas Jobs and Security Act, Texas stands to gain a valuable economic development tool that will create more jobs, investments and tax revenue in our rapidly growing state.”
The bill aims to attract projects in national and state security, supply chain infrastructure, manufacturing, power grid reliability, and other initiatives that require an investment in a school district in Texas of over $1 billion. The Texas Jobs and Security Act would also bring tax relief to the communities who choose to sign agreements. When these investment properties come on the tax rolls, property tax rates will compress, providing rate relief for homeowners and other property-owners in the community.
Additionally, House Bill 5 includes robust transparency and accountability provisions. Rep. Hunter’s bill would require companies participating in the program to report the amount of the investment, number of jobs created, wages paid, and other data to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, while school districts would corroborate the payments they receive from the businesses.
House Bill 5 is a pro-taxpayer and pro-jobs program that incentivizes the manufacturing, technological, energy, and healthcare industries to invest in the future of Texas for generations.
Recently, a broad coalition of leaders voiced support for House Bill 5. In a letter published last month, 255 chambers of commerce, economic development councils, and other business organizations stated “Over the last year, Texas lost several multibillion-dollar deals… Texas stands to lose future jobs, future investments, and future tax base growth if we don’t restock our economic development toolbox with a new economic development incentive this legislative session.” The bill was passed to the Senate with the support of 120 Texas House Representatives.
ART President, Jamie McWright stated, “passing House Bill 5 would be a significant step toward securing the future of Texas by incentivizing key industries and attracting major businesses to our state.” She continued by stating how “this bill has the potential to create jobs, generate economic activity, and provide long-term tax revenue for government services, especially schools. It’s time for Texas to take the lead in bringing jobs and economic growth back to America.”
