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.