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Business and economic development
November 15, 2006
New innovation comish
Coming soon: A new Governor’s Competitive Council to coordinate innovation in state government.
In official-speak, it will “create a framework for communication, growth and innovation in state government through a collaborative effort with key regulatory industries, the private sector and institutions of higher education.”
The bottom line: Ensure continued economic growth, in state government and across the state.
Gov. Perry announced the council during a speech Tuesday in San Antonio to the Texas Lyceum, a conference of business and community leaders and elected officials to create a public policy agenda for economic growth in the state.
The new council promises to further solidify Perry’s control over economic development in Texas by giving him another set of political appointees on a panel whose recommendations could help set the course for state government operations in years to come.
“We need to create a seamless system of opportunity and innovation that starts in grade school and continues until a young Texan graduates from college qualified for a good job in the 21st Century economy,” Perry told the group.
In order for the Texas economy to grow and prosper, Perry said, Texas must build on recent progress and be even more competitive and nimble in the effort to attract jobs, corporate expansions and relocation projects.
Membership on the new panel? Business leaders, college and university officials and key regulatory officials, along with reps from the “economic development community” and K-12 schools.
The council will have “a broad cross-section of experts familiar with economic development challenges, workforce training, regulatory impediments and education needs,” Perry said.
Number of members? Not announced.
The council is to begin meeting after the first of the year.
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November 14, 2006
Sunset votes to shut pest control board
The Sunset Advisory Commission voted 6-5 today to recommend that the embattled Structural Pest Control Board be closed and its duties be moved to the state agriculture department.
The decision came after months of intense lobbying between pest control companies who were angry about the tiny agency’s enforcement and supporters who insisted it should remain independent and not bow to pressure for cracking down on violators.
The fight now goes to the Legislature in January.
For a bureau with a small board and just a few employees, the fight surfacedin a public way today when the Sunset Commission took up a staff report that recommended that the agency be continued in operation.
State Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, a rancher, immediately suggested amending the recommendation to abolish the agency instead. Commission member Howard Wolf seconded the motion.
Why the rush, asked state Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, insisting he needed more time to consider such a significant change. “There have been complaints by pest control operators … but none by environmentalists or consumer groups … and that tells me it is working,” he said.
“It’s a bad way to govern, to just shut down an agency.”
Cook disagreed. “There are a lot of things that are problematic with this agency,” he said. “I feel very strongly we should do this.”
Cook said the regulation of Texas pest control agency could be better handled by the Department of Agriculture, which already oversees agricultural pesticides. There, the agriculture commission can appoint an advisory committee to oversee the regulation — a committee he said will include industry representatives.
The vote? Ayes by 1.
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May 10, 2006
Rep advises on calculating new biz tax
Rep. Bill Keffer, R-Dallas, who failed to dissuade House members from adopting an expanded business tax intended to contribute to lower school property taxes, sent an e-mail to constituents this week featuring the form businesses would have to fill out assuming Gov. RIck Perry signs House Bill 3 into law.
His note and the form are below. And no, we don’t know what a water’s edge unitary combined basis is, though surely it has nothing to do with water …
Keffer’s words and the form from here:
Dear Friend of District 107 -
As the debate in Austin continues during the Special Session, I want to provide you with two pieces of information to help you understand what’s at stake. As you know, HB 3 (which creates a new business tax) was passed by the House and the Senate and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature. I am attaching the new “Schedule B” that every business would have to complete to calculate its tax liability under this new tax. I encourage you to complete it for your business and distribute to others; only then will you know what the tax will really mean for you. I also am attaching my speech on the House floor in opposition to HB 3, which I think summarizes my concerns with this proposal. Since the Senate has not acted on HB 1 (using $2.3 billion of the surplus to reduce property-tax rates) and HB 2 (the dedication of revenue to reduce property-tax rates), it remains to be seen what will finally happen. It’s never too late to let your voice be heard.
For Texas,
Bill
Schedule B:
Line and Item Amount Amount
Form to be filed and taxes paid on a water’s edge unitary combined basis. (See instructions for more detail on each line item)
Total Revenue (if $300,000 or less, enter “0” on lines 7 and 9) $
Less Certain Deductible Expenses
a. "Cash" compensation, such as wages, salaries, stock options, not to exceed $300,000 for any single employee…………………………….$b. Employer's Cost of Retirement Contributions…...$ c. Employer's Cost of Employee Health Insurance...$ d. Employer's Cost of Worker's Compensation…….$ e. Employee Compensation (sum of a through d )…$ f. Cost of Goods Sold (similar to federal tax return).$ g. Enter greater of line e or line f …………………………………………$Margin (line 1 minus line 2g, but nte 70% of line 1)……………………………$
Texas Apportionment (same as current franchise tax)
a. Gross Receipts Everywhere…………………..$b. Texas Gross Receipts…………………………$ c. Percentage of Gross Receipts Attributed to Texas (line 4b divided by line 4a)…………………………..$Taxable Margin (line 3 multiplied by line 4c)…………………………………..$
Tax Rate (wholesalers & retailers, 0.5%; all others, 1%)………………………..$
Tax (line 5 multiplied by line 6)…………………………………………………$
Less Prior Credits Earned……………………………………………………….$
Tax Due (line 7 minus line 8 but not less than zero)…………………………….$
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Business and economic development, Governor, House, Taxes
June 30, 2005
McDaniel takes Moseley job
Longtime state business-development official Tracye McDaniel has been named to replace Jeff Moseley as head of Texas’ top economic development and tourism office.
McDaniel has served as chief operating officer of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism — as the No. 2 official under Moseley — since September 2003.
Moseley recently resigned as chief executive officer of the state office to become head of the Greater Houston Partnership, starting Friday.
McDaniel’s new title will be executive director, officials said.
A native of Waco, McDaniel is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications. She served as the state’s tourism director starting in 1996 and became deputy executive director of the Texas Economic Development Department in February 2000, when it was a separate agency. It later become part of the Governor’s Office.
She has served as chairwoman of the Capital City African-American Chamber of Commerce, an ex-officio director of the Texas Travel Industry Association, a sustaining board member of the Travel Industry Association and a trustee of the National Tourism Foundation.
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April 18, 2005
Bill would help wineries
The Senate on Monday did its part to try to grow the Texas wine industry when it passed Senate Bill 1137, sponsored by Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio.
Under his bill, Texas wineries would be able to advertise on their Web sites where their product is sold, put directional signs on main highways to guide tourists and serve beer at their establishment, unless they are located in a dry area.
Sherry Muller, Madla’s chief of staff, said that wineries are not allowed to post on their Web sites location where their wine is sold and are not allowed to place signs on highways if their business is more than two turns off the highway. They also want to be able to serve beer when events are held at their wineries, Muller said.
The bill also would create some leeway for wineries in “dry” areas of the state — areas where the sale of alcohol is prohibited — when it comes to buying grapes from other states.
Currently, 75 percent of the grapes used in wine in dry areas must be from Texas. The legislation would allow the commissioner of agriculture to cut wineries in those areas some slack if there aren’t enough of the type of grapes they need for their wine in a given year. Those wineries would be able to buy grapes from other states, if the commissioner gives them the OK, Muller said.
The commissioner’s decision would be based on an annual report by the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute, located at Texas Tech University, or another qualified entity, which would be charged with studying the quantities and varieties of grapes in the state for that year.
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March 8, 2005
Perry to businesses: Chill out
The guv urged small-business leaders today not to get too excited about the current provisions of a House tax bill, the “torte reform” measure, because it would tax snack foods including tortes.
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” Perry told the 120-some Texas members of the National Federation of Independent Business during a noon luncheon at the Driskill Hotel.
“I know you want to say, ‘Please stop. We’ve gotta stop this game,’” he said, a nod to the group’s opposition to the payroll tax in the House bill. Perry said that while House and Senate versions of the bill might contain provisions some business people might not support, he expects that the final version of the measure will be more to their liking.
“My advice would be not to do that… . We got a lot of ball to play yet… . We’ll have results. That’s what matters.”
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February 24, 2005
Ellis, Geren roll the dice on casinos
State Sen. Rodney Ellis says he doesn’t gamble. But on Thursday, he tried to look lucky.
Ellis, a Houston Democrat, called a news conference with Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, to sell their proposals to allow casino gambling in Texas. They extolled the economic development potential of casino gambling, and they deplored the pilgrimage that so many Texans make to gamble in Louisiana or Las Vegas. They also pledged to heavily regulate casinos so that Texas would end up with 12 tastefully constructed casinos, not “two doublewides pushed together” with slot machines in the corner, Geren said.
But most of all, Ellis and Geren said the people of Texas should decide the long-burning, ever-controversial issue, comparing it to past fights over the state lottery or concealed handguns.
“You could just about shut down gaming in Louisiana if you legalized it in Texas,” Ellis said. “What I want to do is let the people of Texas finally decide this issue.”
The cloudiest bit of sunshine came when the lawmakers discussed support for their proposals, which would require a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber as well as approval in a statewide election. Geren said they were close to having enough votes in the House. Ellis said the Senate vote might shape up better if the House approves it. But neither talked much about the legislative leadership, which has been skeptical of casino gambling bills in the past.
The odds might look better for legalizing gaming machines at horse tracks, but Ellis said he would not support a bill expanding gambling in Texas that did not allow for high-dollar casinos in cities. He also predicted that the odds for his bill would get better as lawmakers survey the state’s tight finances.
Of course, money was even tighter two years ago, and the Legislature killed a casino gambling proposal anyway.
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February 11, 2005
Emerging technology: The road show
Gov. Rick Perry’s Eco Devo Road Show was in San Antonio today to highlight how the proposed $300 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund would be spent.
Half of the funding would be earmarked to create collaborative efforts between Texas universities and the private sector — new “Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization.” Bottom line: They would be hotbeds of research and development activities, incubate start-up firms and lure existing companies that can market innovations.
Another $75 million would be used to match research grants awarded by federal or private sponsors, helping Texas researchers better compete for grants from sponsors who want their funds to have double or more the impact.
The remaining $75 million would go to help make Texas’ public universities world leaders in technology research by attracting more renowned research teams from universities in other states.
Perry made the announcement at the headquarters of VidaCare Corp., which collaborated with the Alamo City’s UT Health Science Center to create an intravenous device that is helping doctors, emergency medical technicians and soldiers on the field of battle save lives by administering medicine and fluids an average of 10 minutes faster to trauma victims whose veins have collapsed.
“With an Emerging Technology Fund, we can replicate the successful UT-VidaCare partnership with other private sector entities and universities across the state, attract top-notch research teams from around the country to Texas institutions of higher learning, and help start-up companies get off the ground faster so their life-saving inventions get to patients sooner,” Perry said.
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February 1, 2005
Faster rebates could be coming
Tired of waiting months for that rebate on your new computer? Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, has filed a bill that would require companies that offer mail-in rebates to pay the consumer within 60 days or send a notice listing any problems with the rebate request.
Consumers who file incomplete paperwork or whose applications have any other problems would have another 30 days to fix the problem and resubmit the request.
The bill would require companies to mail the rebate or pay the consumer electronically.
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January 31, 2005
Where's the beef? Sherman
Meat processing giant Tyson Foods will bring 1,600 jobs to Sherman during the next three years as part of a deal announced today that includes a $10 million package of state assistance.
In a late-morning announcement, Perry said the Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson will establish its largest case-ready meat-packing plant in the nation in Sherman. Plans call for more than 6 million pounds of pork and beef will be processed at the plant each week.
In addition to $7 million to be provided to Tyson from the Texas Enterprise Fund, Perry said an additional $3 million in workforce training funds will be made available for the project from the Texas Workforce Commission. In exchange, Texas will reap a $100 million capital investment by Tyson in the new plant and payrolls, according to Perry.
With the Tyson announcement, Perry said the state has allocated more than $200 million from the enterprise fund to bring more than 24,000 new jobs and generate more than $6 billion in capital investments in the state’s economy.
Perry is seeking another $300 million from the Legislature to replenish the fund, plus another $300 million to establish an Emerging Technology Fund to spur research.
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January 26, 2005
State of the State: Job growth
Gov. Perry’s take on job creation:
“Job growth has led to tremendous revenue growth. In two years we have gone from $10 billion in the red to $6 billion above what we last budgeted. That didn’t happen by accident, it happened because we made the hard decisions and you cast the tough votes. And today you deserve much of the credit.”
“The foundation for future prosperity is built on the bedrock of good jobs and great schools. We are building a strong foundation one job at a time and one educated Texan at a time.”
“To make long-term investments in health care, education and the social welfare, we need the revenue generated by economic growth.”
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January 10, 2005
Craddick supports business tax
Joining other top state leaders, House Speaker Tom Craddick today said he supports a broad-based business tax as a way to pay for school finance reform.
Addressing a conference of editorial writers in Austin, Craddick said replacing the franchise tax with a new levy should pay for additional revenues needed to overhaul school finance. Craddick said only one in six companies in Texas pay franchise taxes.
The House is looking at alternatives to raise the needed money. He hinted at a change in the gross receipts tax, a payroll tax or changes in sales tax and a value added tax are under active discussion. Craddick did not discuss details of any of the alternative taxing plans under discussion.
Any likely changes in taxes will not add an additional burden, but be a “shift,” in current levies, Craddick stressed. “I do not believe there will be an overall increase in taxes for Texans,” he said.
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January 5, 2005
BP Chemical announces Texas expansion
BP Chemical announced today that it will expand its Texas operations to create 150 jobs and invest $5.7 million by locating its new olefins and derivatives commercial group headquarters here.
Average salary of the new jobs? A whopping $112,000.
“This expansion will benefit dozens of workers and their families, provide needed revenue for important government priorities, such as education and health care, and help promote Houston’s reputation as the world leader in the petrochemical industry, Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement in Austin.
To get the expanded BP Chemical operations, Perry said that Texas committed $750,000 from the Texas Enterprise Fund, an economic development fund that has been making headlines in recent months for creating thousands of prospective jobs.
Since the $295 million fund was authorized in the 2003 legislative session, Texas has allocated more than $200 million to bring more than 22,000 jobs to Texas and pump more than $6 billion into the Texas economy, Perry aides said.
Last month the fund helped Texas land the largest job creation project in the nation since 2000: an expansion by Countrywide Financial Corp. that will bring 7,500 jobs in coming years.
Perry plans to ask the Legislature for $300 million to replenish the fund plus an additional $300 million to create an Emerging Technology Fund to help boost business-building research programs in Texas.
The Legislature convenes next week for its every-two-year session.
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