Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas During the past week State Representative Raul Torres voted on the general appropriations bill and laid out his first round of bills in committee.
Standing with his House colleagues Torres voted in favor of the general appropriations bill (CSHB1) for the fiscal years of 2012 and 2013. Upon passage Representative Torres commented I voted for the appropriations bill because it cut spending balanced the budget without raising taxes and built a foundation to continue creating new jobs in Texas.
The Texas Senate is working on its own version of the budget and differences will need to be worked out in conference committee. Once both chambers approve a final version it will go to the Governors office for his approval or veto.
In continuing to promote economic development and job creation Torres stood before the House Ways and Means Committee to introduce HB 1316 which would allow Corpus Christi to receive a rebate of all hotel and sales tax revenues collected from a new convention center hotel once it opened. Mayor Joe Adame testified in favor while Foster Edwards of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce and Keith Arnold of the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau were in support of the measure.
Torres also introduced House Bills 3151 and 2493 before the House Economic & Small Business Committee. HB 3151 would provide privacy to the applicant in the states job matching website. This will close a loophole in state law that allows others to obtain private personal information collected by the WorkInTexas.com site. Torres HB 2493 relating to Enterprise Zone projects would allow for smaller businesses to participate in the Enterprise Zone Program by splitting designations usually reserved for larger companies into half and quarter sized designations. Businesses selected to participate in the program could apply for state sales and use tax refunds on qualified expenditures.
Currently the State limits the number of available Enterprise Zone slots to 105. My bill will give smaller companies a chance to participate in the Enterprise Zone Program while maximizing its efficiency said Representative Torres.
Later this week Representative Torres will move forward with House Bills 3149 and 3574. HB 3149 the cornerstone of Torres legislative package would adopt a pilot program at the Texas Workforce Commission utilizing the management methodology Lean Six Sigma. If adopted this proven efficiency measure could reduce wasteful State spending by 15-25. House Bill 3574 would continue the Texas Back to Work program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission. The bill would appropriate $15 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund to encourage businesses to hire unemployed workers. The program was a statewide success during the last biennium.
Raul Torres serves as the State Representative for District 33. He is a member of the House Committee on Insurance and the House Appropriations Committee.
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas During the past week State Representative Raul Torres voted on the general appropriations bill and laid out his first round of bills in committee.
Standing with his House colleagues Torres voted in favor of the general appropriations bill (CSHB1) for the fiscal years of 2012 and 2013. Upon passage Representative Torres commented I voted for the appropriations bill because it cut spending balanced the budget without raising taxes and built a foundation to continue creating new jobs in Texas.
The Texas Senate is working on its own version of the budget and differences will need to be worked out in conference committee. Once both chambers approve a final version it will go to the Governors office for his approval or veto.
In continuing to promote economic development and job creation Torres stood before the House Ways and Means Committee to introduce HB 1316 which would allow Corpus Christi to receive a rebate of all hotel and sales tax revenues collected from a new convention center hotel once it opened. Mayor Joe Adame testified in favor while Foster Edwards of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce and Keith Arnold of the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau were in support of the measure.
Torres also introduced House Bills 3151 and 2493 before the House Economic & Small Business Committee. HB 3151 would provide privacy to the applicant in the states job matching website. This will close a loophole in state law that allows others to obtain private personal information collected by the WorkInTexas.com site. Torres HB 2493 relating to Enterprise Zone projects would allow for smaller businesses to participate in the Enterprise Zone Program by splitting designations usually reserved for larger companies into half and quarter sized designations. Businesses selected to participate in the program could apply for state sales and use tax refunds on qualified expenditures.
Currently the State limits the number of available Enterprise Zone slots to 105. My bill will give smaller companies a chance to participate in the Enterprise Zone Program while maximizing its efficiency said Representative Torres.
Later this week Representative Torres will move forward with House Bills 3149 and 3574. HB 3149 the cornerstone of Torres legislative package would adopt a pilot program at the Texas Workforce Commission utilizing the management methodology Lean Six Sigma. If adopted this proven efficiency measure could reduce wasteful State spending by 15-25. House Bill 3574 would continue the Texas Back to Work program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission. The bill would appropriate $15 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund to encourage businesses to hire unemployed workers. The program was a statewide success during the last biennium.
Raul Torres serves as the State Representative for District 33. He is a member of the House Committee on Insurance and the House Appropriations Committee.
