Even without a replacement, however, the program’s lack of a deadline by which projects must be built means Texans may pay for tax breaks through 2049 under a program that ended in 2022.
“We were afraid of this, and in our minds that’s money that should be going to school districts that’s disappearing,” said Bob Fleming, a Houston organizer with The Metropolitan Organization, a nonprofit whose members have opposed the program. “This advances our argument that this kind of unregulated program with no oversight is simply not worth it.”
to sidestep the law’s already modest jobs targets, and dozens of companies have failed to create the promised jobs with no consequence. Martinez Fischer says he is open to considering a new incentive program, but only if it's narrowly targeted to projects that demonstratively bring jobs and boost local economies."We need to be very stingy about giving away taxpayer dollars," he said.
“Absent knowing kind of where the leadership was, it was difficult to move forward,” he said of the coalition’s end. “My association still believes strongly that some type of program is necessary for Texas to compete. But we have no intention of writing a bill and asking a legislator to introduce it.”
Regardless, the path appears destined to be bumpy. Some conservatives have suggested removing wind and solar energy projects from the program, though doing so could risk draining Democratic support. Pete Pape, the chief financial officer for Leander ISD near Austin and president of Texas Schools for Economic Development, a group of districts that supported Chapter 313, said he is hoping to avoid such conflicts this year.