Good morning, 

Corporate welfare: taxpayers loathe it, but politicians (in both parties) love it.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

–Brandon Waltens 

Monday, May 10, 2021
Modify your email preferences.

• It’s not often that the Republican and Democrat parties of Texas agree. But when it comes to corporate welfare, both parties' platforms are very clearly in opposition.
   
• Why then do Austin politicians in both parties continue to vote to funnel tax dollars and subsidies to outside corporations?

• Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code allows school districts to offer large tax breaks for 10 years to renewable energy and other businesses (including the wind farms that infamously failed during this February's winter storm...)
   

• The tax breaks come at no loss to the school districts. Instead, the state supplements the lost revenue to the districts from sales taxes and other state-collected taxes.
   

• The program has drawn criticism from both the right and left; both the Republican Party of Texas and the Democrat Party of Texas call for the abolition of Chapter 313 abatements and corporate welfare in their party platforms.
   

• Despite the opposition from both parties, however, the Texas House overwhelmingly voted in 2019 to extend the program for another 10 years, from 2022 to 2032.  
   

• That bill was killed in the Senate. But now lawmakers are trying once again to extend the program...

• Over the weekend, members of the Texas House voted 112-29 to extend the Chapter 313 program for another two years. The bill was approved with almost no debate.
   
• And today, the House is set to vote on House Bill 1556, which will extend the program for ten years.
   
• While lawmakers are slated to give away billions of dollars in tax breaks to outside companies, Texas taxpayers have been paying skyrocketing property tax bills with no meaningful relief.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers