In March, the Fort Worth Chamber hosted Governor Greg Abbott as part of our “Leaders in Government” series. At the time, activity in the Texas Legislature was beginning to heat up, with all sorts of legislative priorities needing to be sorted out. But at the Leaders in Government event, Governor Abbott honed in on the economic prosperity of Texas. He applauded the state’s business community for positioning Texas as the top state to do business, and acknowledged there was work to be done in the Legislature to ensure the it stays that way.

Economic competitiveness topped the list of legislative priorities for the Fort Worth Chamber heading into the 88^th regular session this year. With the expiration of Chapter 313 last year, a new incentive program was necessary for Texas to remain competitive with other states for business attraction and investment.

That priority took the form of House Bill 5, also referred to as the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation Act. The stated purpose of the bill is to create new, high-paying jobs, encourage economic development, attract large-scale business investment, and encourage energy and water infrastructure development, all in a balanced, transparent, and accountable manner.

Some of the bill’s key provisions include:

• The incentive offers a 50% abatement on local school district maintenance and operations property taxes; the abatement increases to 75% in a federally designated economic opportunity zone
• Eligible projects: manufacturing, dispatchable power generation facilities, technology research/development facilities, and critical infrastructure projects
• Jobs requirements:
  • For a county with a population of at least 750,000, such as Tarrant County:
    • Must create and maintain employment of at least 75 jobs
    • Must invest at least $200 million during the first year of the incentive period
  • The job creation and capital investment requirements continue to decrease on a sliding scale for lesser-populated counties
• The property tax incentive must be the determining factor for a project to locate in Texas; in other words, applications for incentives will be rejected if the project were determined to be locating in Texas anyway
• The incentive program created by HB 5 expires on December 31, 2033

The final version of HB 5 was passed in the House by a vote of 100-36, and in the Senate by a vote of 26-5. This widespread bipartisan support mirrors the overwhelming public support among Texans for an economic development incentive program like HB 5.

The so-called “Texas Miracle” witnessed by businesses, employees, and residents of the state over the last couple of decades, is due in no small part to the pro-business, pro-growth, and pro-jobs policies employed by state lawmakers. The Fort Worth Chamber is grateful to elected officials and their staff who worked diligently to find a solution on this issue amid a number of other policy debates occurring at the Capitol.

HB 5 will keep Texas on the radar of many businesses looking to locate their business operations all over the world, and will ensure that investment, jobs, and continued economic prosperity remain pillars of a continued “Texas Miracle”.

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Upcoming Dates

• June 6: Tarrant County Commissioners Court, 10 a.m.
• June 6: Fort Worth City Council Work Session, 1 p.m.