As lawmakers prepare for the start of the 90th session of the Texas state legislature in January, area businesses, developers and even Katy ISD are all preparing their “wish lists” for legislative action.

Attendees at the Katy Area Economic Development Council’s September 29 general assembly meeting had the opportunity to hear directly from three area state representatives during a panel discussion at Embassy Suites Katy Houston, 16435 Katy Freeway in Houston.

The program, moderated by KAEDC Membership Services Coordinator Chris Harris, included a panel discussion with District 26 Representative Matt Morgan, whose district covers a portion of northern Fort Bend County; District 85 Representative Stan Kitzman, whose area covers the southeastern corner of Waller County including portions of Katy, Brookshire and Pattison as well as portions of Fort Bend and Austin Counties and other areas; and Representative District 132 Mike Schofield, whose district covers the Harris County portions of Katy as well as Cypress.

The discussions centered around strategies to maintain Texas’ position as the number one economic power in the country over the next ten years. “We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” said Schofield. “Our job as government is to provide infrastructure and then get out of the way,” adding that the state needs to provide a regulatory environment that is as stable and predictable as possible and to keep taxes as low as possible. Kitzman said, ”We need power around this thing called ‘the Texas miracle.’ “ Kitzman also stressed the need for conservative policies to be put in place and for maintenance of local control, not bigger government. Morgan said water and power attract businesses along with low taxes and the absence of a state income tax. “Those are the things that keep us going and growing strong.” he said. Morgan said that he would also like to see fewer bills filed and passed in the legislature, and that most new bills impose more restrictions, not fewer.

Asked what they are hearing from businesses about their biggest challenges today, Kitzman said it is “inputs into their business model” and how much it actually costs to create their products. Morgan said that he hears about water and waiting for power – sometimes as long as 18 months -- as well as permitting and approval issues from local governmental entities. Schofield said that the number one challenge the legislature had previously heard for years was getting enough workers who were properly trained and willing to do the jobs. Due to the amount of training that is now being offered in the state, that issue has now been supplanted by two other issues, he said – water and power. “Water doesn’t increase so we have to be smart about finding new technologies to turn the water that we have back to usable water,” Schofield said. Data centers, which in the past have used large amounts of water, are finding ways to use less water, through closed loop technologies and other methods.

Asked what Texas could do differently to prepare Texas workers for the jobs of the future, Morgan saluted Katy ISD for its programs such as the water management program created through a strategic public-private industry partnership, and Texas State Technical Institute for “the best college program that

we have set up,” which guarantees job placement. Schofield described the recent historical shift from emphasis on college degrees to vocational education and said that the legislature is ensuring that no student is left behind. Kitzman said that businesses are struggling to find responsible employees. “One of our biggest problems is that we’ve created a culture that doesn’t know how to work,” he said – that people don’t show up on time and don’t do the job they are asked to do. Work ethic as well as the ethics of the trade need to be taught, Kitzman said.

Addressing the biggest infrastructure needs that constrain Texas’ growth, Schofield said that water is number one, and that more manufacturing returns to the U.S., the state needs to ensure that water is used in the most efficient way possible. He cited the City of Corpus Christi’s 20-year delay in creating a desalinization plant, saying it was “inexcusable.” Schofield also said that water storage – now done mostly in above-ground reservoirs with a 50 percent evaporation rate – needed to transition to something more efficient, such as underground storage. “There is no Texas without water,” Kitzman said. “Two things that are joined at the hip, though, are water and energy.” Small nuclear reactors such as the one being developed at Abilene Christian University could solve the energy problem, Kitzman said. “To propel Texas to the future, we’ve got to develop those things,” Kitzman said. “We need them sooner rather than later.” Morgan asked the attendees if they thought Texas should build desalinization plants with a slight majority raising hands in favor of the issue. He also supported the development of small nuclear reactors which he said were the size of the stage the panelists were sitting on and which could be quickly deployed on the back of an 18-wheeler. “There are plenty of places to put those in Texas where we used to have coal-fired plants, which we don’t have very many left anymore,” he said.

Asked which industries Texas should focus on attracting in order to remain competitive, Kitzman said the number two driver of the Texas economy is still agriculture, with oil and gas still number one. Kitzman said the average age of a farmer today is 60 and that younger people needed to be encouraged to stay in agriculture. Data centers are also critical infrastructure today and are critical for national security, Kitzman said. “They are coming – should Texas lead?” he asked. Morgan said information technology is huge in Texas, ranking it as the number three industry. Morgan also mentioned manufacturing and the development of the Texas Stock Exchange in the Dallas area. Schofield said that government is not the best leader of development and that it is innovation from the business community that will continue to drive the Texas economy. “Government is to make sure that all those obstacles are out of your way,” he said. “Texas didn’t become the number one state by accident. It’s going to be because of you.”