The Austin Chamber, along with 12 statewide and regional business organizations, voiced their opposition to SB 600 today to the Texas Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development. The bill is designed to eliminate one of Texas' most successful tools to attract high-technology and manufacturing companies that substantially increase our tax base.

SB 600, by Senator Konni Burton (R-Colleyville), proposes to repeal the Texas Economic Development Act. The Texas Economic Development Act, also known as Chapter 313 of the Tax Code, allows school districts to attract new taxable property development by offering a limitation on the appraised value of the property in exchange for the maintenance and operations part of the school district’s property tax. Chapter 313 is used to close decisions that bring jobs and investments to the state. Major companies such as Samsung, Toyota, and Texas Instruments are all recipients of Chapter 313 investments. Since 2015, $81 billion has been invested in Texas through Chapter 313 projects.

Texas has the fifth highest business property tax in the U.S., which makes it especially tough to attract companies with a lot of expensive equipment like data centers, semiconductor manufacturers, auto assembly plants, and wind farms. The opposition to Senator Burton’s plan is that eliminating Chapter 313 through the Texas Economic Development Act would put Texas further behind and heavily damage our reputation as a business-friendly state. As of May 2016, 311 active projects are under agreements for Chapter 313 funding. The bill was left pending in the committee.

The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development is chaired by Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls). Locally, vice chair Senator Judith Zaffrini represents SE Travis County.

Click here to read the chamber’s testimony against SB 600. To watch a recap video from the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee, click here and here for part 2.