Improve workforce development & education in the classroom
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas A strong economic climate and surplus in the states General Revenue Fund will allow Texas to focus on long-term planning during the 2013 legislative session
says House Ways & Means Committee Chair Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (R-Kerrville) as the
2013 Texas Legislative Session begins. We need to use this opportunity to address the needs of our states growing population."
Financially we are in a much better place than we were two years ago" Hilderbran said noting that the conservative fiscal policies the legislature adopted in 2011 have led to a surplus of at least $8.8 billion in the general revenue fund.
Hilderbran who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee said that the priorities for this session include providing property tax relief cutting taxes for small business owners restoring funding to public education and securing funding for infrastructure.
One of my big goals this session is to reform our tax code to make it simpler and fairer" Hilderbran said.
Were going to have meaningful and substantial tax relief for all tax payers including small businesses and property owners."
The reforms include a plan to cut taxes for small business owners by permanently extending a tax exemption for companies that earn less than $1 million a year. The legislature first raised the exemption to $1 million in 2009 offering relief to nearly 40000 small businesses across the state.
Small businesses are creating the vast majority of new jobs in the state helping to keep our unemployment low and job-creation high" Hilderbran said.
Permanently extending the $1 million exemption and adopting other pro-growth tax policies will help attract even more new businesses to the state and encourage growth of those already here."
A year after the legislature passed the 2009 exemption the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that Texas created more jobs than any other state and the Wall Street Journal credited the states low taxes and employer-friendly environment with helping make Texas the job creation capital" of the nation.
In the 12 months prior to September 2012 Texas added 270000 jobs to its payroll growing at a rate of 3.1. The U.S. growth rate for that same period was only 1.7.
Hilderbran said that another legislative priority improving education goes hand-in-hand with economic
development.
Were encouraging business growth but we need to make sure that we are also providing the skilled labor that new businesses require. We need to improve education both in workforce development and in the classroom and a key part of that will be restoring funding cuts to public education" he said.
Another key goal of the 2013 session will be developing the infrastructure necessary for the states growing population particularly as it relates to energy resources transportation and water supply.
Our state is growing and we have to make sure that we have well-maintained roads and bridges and reliable energy and water resources to address that fact" Hilderbran said.
For example the 2012 State Water Plan projects that water demand will increase by 22 over the next 50 years but that the available water supply will drop by 10 percent. Weve got to address that issue now so that were not scrambling to find water resources down the road when a drought hits" said the Ways & Means Committee chairman.
