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Texas House OKs Chapter 313 revision
Would allow school districts to offer tax breaks, excludes renewable energy
The Texas House of Representatives approved a revival of one of the state’s largest corporate tax-break programs.
Known as Chapter 313, it expired in December, and a proposal authored by Rep. Todd Hunter aims to replace it.
School districts could again offer subsidies to corporations that propose to do business in their taxing jurisdictions, but the revision would require more government oversight and add incentives for existing manufacturers to expand, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
The proposal would establish a tiered system for eligibility, with a minimum taxable property value of $5 million for projects in smaller and less affluent school districts. The minimum would rise to $100 million in a district with a taxable property value of at least $10 billion.
School districts would also be required to prepare financial impact reports for 25 years. The state comptroller would review those reports to decide whether to recommend a tax abatement agreement, the outlet said.
Opponents of the bill argue that Chapter 313 disproportionately benefited certain geographic areas, as two-thirds of all projects were in just 14 counties. Others say it amounted to corporate welfare.
The revised subsidy program excludes projects dealing in renewable energy. Wind and solar projects made up two-thirds of the deals under Chapter 313, which was in place for 20 years. Gov. Greg Abbott wanted to exclude those projects because he’s a proponent of fossil fuels, the outlet reported.
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Employee benefits got some juice thanks to an amendment to the proposal by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer. Corporations receiving the tax breaks would have to provide health care and pay the average manufacturing wage for their counties.
The Texas House voted 120-24 for approval. It now goes to the Texas Senate, which declined to extend Chapter 313 two years ago, deeming that it unfairly benefited wind and solar developments and gave tax breaks to large corporations that didn’t need them.
—Quinn Donoghue