TAM
Policy Principles
Energy
The Texas Association of Manufacturers (TAM) supports policy initiatives that:
- Encourage the development
of market-based and cost-effective generation sources that will provide
Texas with greater generation fuel diversity, including market-based, cost-effective
renewable sources.
- Expand Texas natural
gas supplies through exploration and other mean (such as liquefied natural
gas).
- Require an appropriate
sharing of transmission infrastructure costs between producers and consumers
of electricity.
- Support the development
of transmission infrastructure that will lower manufacturers’ electricity
costs and enhance reliability.
- Streamline the generation
facility permit processes to encourage more timely expansion of cost-effective
energy supplies.
- Remove barriers for
and encourage the development of market-based, cost-effective load response
programs.
- Rededicate the “system
benefit fund” for its statutory purpose.
Water
TAM supports policy initiatives that:
- Promote cost-effective
solutions to meet the state’s water needs by proportionally distributing
any costs in developing Texas water infrastructure statewide among all consumers.
- Promote water reuse
incentives and sustainability initiatives developed in collaboration with
innovative manufacturing partners to reduce the burden on the proposed water
infrastructure.
Air
TAM supports policy initiatives that:
- Maintain current,
ongoing initiatives which have dramatically improved air quality in Texas
and do not interfere with effective enforcement of existing effective state
and federal air quality standards.
- Promote continued industry
investment in technologically and economically feasible emission reduction
solutions through market-driven measures rather than mandates.
- Maintain automobile
fleet turnover programs such as Low-Income Repair Assistance Program (LIRAP)
that promote cleaner automotive usage and dramatically reduce mobile emissions.
- Maintain cost-effective
programs like Texas Emissions Reductions Plan (TERP) that are critical to
reduce air emissions.
- Make air quality attainment
requirements feasible to avoid unrealistic plans that risk Texas transportation
funding, halt road construction and accelerate manufacturing job loss and
relocation.
- Encourage investment
in the development of cutting-edge technologies to continually improve air
quality through market-driven measures rather than mandates.
- Promote certainty and
uniformity in regulatory standards, rules and regulations that make long-term
manufacturing investment feasible and take into consideration international
competitive factors.
Tax
TAM supports policy initiatives that:
- Promote a competitive
business tax environment in all state and local taxes.
- Maintain the structural
integrity of Texas’ new margins tax while seeking legislative and
administrative technical changes and/or clarifications to create greater
clarity and fairness in the new tax.
- Establish a sales tax
exemption on research and development (R&D) materials and equipment,
which follows closely the exemption for manufacturing materials and equipment.
- Oppose attempts to
further distinguish tax roles of residential and commercial entities, such
as appraisal caps.
- Oppose any increase
in local option sales taxes beyond the current 2% cap.
Transportation
TAM supports policy initiatives that:
- Promote a market-driven,
cost-effective transportation infrastructure that allows for efficient and
competitive transport through the seaports, land ports, roads, and railroads
of Texas.
- Expedite the permitting
process to include timely response to permitting requests so manufacturing
construction and investment can move forward in a reasonable, timely manner.
- Encourage expeditious
traffic flow, which improves the environment, promotes efficiency and benefits
consumers through reduced costs.
Competitiveness
TAM supports policy initiatives that:
- Keep Texas on the competitive
cutting edge to attract manufacturers and grow jobs. Renewal of the Texas
Enterprise Fund and Texas Emerging Technology Funds are critical in keeping
Texas competitive.
- Foster an effective,
efficient, and standards-based K-12 education system so the future Texas
workforce can keep pace with international manufacturing competitors like
India and China.
- Promote workforce readiness
and provide incentives for universities, community colleges and technical
schools to increase the number of graduates in critical fields such as engineering,
math, physical science, and math and science teacher education.
- Support a fair and
equitable civil justice system that promotes a sound business environment
capable of attracting and retaining manufacturing jobs.
- Ensure that Texas manufacturers
continue to have the right as employers to set terms of employment and rules
for their workplace related to prohibition of firearms on their private
property or other safety measures.