Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, September 19, 2022.

– Brandon Waltens 

• It’s not often that the Republican and Democrat parties of Texas agree. Yet when it comes to corporate welfare, both parties' platforms are very clearly in opposition.
   
• But after the Texas Legislature chose not to extend a massive corporate welfare program last year, House Speaker Dade Phelan is working to ensure the Legislature will work to bring the controversial program back. 

• 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 last year’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 have called for the abolition of Chapter 313 abatements and corporate welfare in their party platforms.
   

• With the program set to expire at the end of 2022, two attempts were made during last year’s regular legislative session to keep the program going. Both efforts failed.
   

• However, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R–Beaumont) has confirmed his support for Chapter 313 multiple times and said the Texas House will take a “long, hard look” at bringing it back.

• At a recent meeting of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the program came under fire. 
   
• “The governor, the city councilmen, county commissioners, and school board trustees can take money from Texas taxpayers and give it to politically connected businesses to programs like Chapter 313 without worrying about old-fashioned concepts like private property theft,” said Bill Peacock, policy director for the Huffines Liberty Foundation, adding that ending the program is "the right thing to do both ethically and economically."
   

• “Texas taxpayers shouldn’t be stuck with increased tax bills in order to carry the cost of well-connected businesses,” said Tim Hardin, president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. “Instead, they should demand the Texas Legislature let these programs expire and encourage local governments to compete for business by cutting taxes and red tape rather than picking winners and losers.”
   

• With the Legislature slated to return on January 10, 2023, taxpayers should be on alert as lawmakers work to revive the 313 corporate welfare program. 

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.