Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is No. 1 state for business, but is it?


Gov. Greg Abbott time and again boasts about Texas’ enterprise local weather and the Lone Star State’s recognition for being now not simply one of the best states for enterprise — but the tip state.

“Businesses large and small have led Texas to be ranked the No. 1 state for business every year that I’ve been governor,” Abbott stated throughout his State of the State speech Feb. 16 in San Marcos.

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This is a well-liked boast from politicians all the way through the rustic. On March 15, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee stated his state used to be the best state for companies to thrive in because of a strong business climate. In September, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated he was honored his state was ranked as the best by Area Development magazine.

PolitiFact reached out to Abbott’s administrative center and officers cited Site Selection mag’s Governor’s Cup awards as their supply. Site Selection is a well-respected enterprise mag, mavens we spoke to stated, that has been round since 1954, in keeping with the mag’s RelatedIn profile.

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The mag tracks tasks via its Conway Projects Database, and a qualifying undertaking has to satisfy no less than one in all 3 standards, in keeping with Site Selection. They will have to have an funding of $1 million, create 20 or extra new jobs or have no less than 20,000 sq. ft of latest development.

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Texas has gained a Governor’s Cup award for 11 consecutive years.

Site Selection awarded Texas a 2022 Governor’s Cup based on “total qualified projects,” a March 1, announcement stated. The mag offers out more than one Governor’s Cup awards. Site Selection awarded Kansas a Governor’s Cup for the full selection of certified capital funding tasks in keeping with capita. Site Selection ranked Texas No. 7 in that class — down from No. 6 in 2021.

Experts instructed us Site Selection is a reputable supply for enterprise scores. But it is now not the one supply. CNBC, Forbes, the Tax Foundation and others supply annual scores of states’ enterprise climates the usage of a variety of components. Several of those rank Texas a number of the height states 12 months after 12 months.

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But they don’t constantly rank Texas No. 1.

In 2022, CNBC ranked Texas No. 5 on its list, which considers a number of components starting from body of workers to price of doing enterprise. The closing time CNBC named Texas as the best state for business was 2018 — the one time it has named Texas the top-rated state throughout Abbott’s tenure.

The Tax Foundation ranked Texas No. 13 in its most recent State Business Tax Climate Index and has constantly ranked Texas outdoor the tip 10. Texas’ very best rating throughout Abbott’s tenure is No. 11 in 2016.

“There’s no one measure that can capture everything about a state’s business climate, but there’s no denying that Texas is highly competitive, with low taxes, low regulatory burdens, and a strong economy that attracts many businesses and individuals,” stated Jared Walczak, vp of State Projects on the Tax Foundation. “Unsurprisingly, governors across the country tend to highlight the rankings on which their states do the best.”

Richard Alm, a writer-in-residence at Southern Methodist’s University Birdwell Institute for Economic Freedom, identified that Texas has at all times been a number of the maximum business-friendly states. Texas’ financial system used to be thought to be one of the best underneath former Gov. Rick Perry.

“Basically, his claim really should be not that he did something to make Texas No. 1, but that he didn’t mess anything up that was already functioning quite well, in terms of the state economy,” Alm stated, relating to Site Selection’s rating.

This is now not the primary time PolitiFact has fact-checked a governor or height elected respectable announcing their state is the most efficient for enterprise. In 2017, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, in working for governor, stated Georgia used to be the No. 1 state for enterprise. Cagle cited Site Selection’s 2016 record of the states with the most efficient enterprise local weather, which had Georgia as the top-ranked state. PolitiFact rated it Half True.

Greg LeRoy, government director of Good Jobs First, a nonpartisan nonprofit analysis group, stated there are boundaries to Site Selection’s standards for scores. He stated it’s vital to take a look at extra detailed knowledge. Is a state dropping jobs or gaining them? Are companies migrating out of the state or into the state? Are companies increasing or now not?

“All those things matter,” LeRoy stated. “It’s capturing some information but it’s missing a lot of important events, too.”

Abbott stated, “Businesses large and small have led Texas to be ranked the No. 1 state for business every year that I’ve been governor.”

(*1*)

Site Selection, a well-respected mag, has awarded Texas a Governor’s Cup for 11 immediately years for the full selection of “qualified projects.” The mag additionally awarded Kansas a Governor’s Cup for having essentially the most funding tasks in keeping with capita, beating out Texas. Other publications and resources have now not ranked Texas No. 1 in all of the years Abbott has been governor, but they do rank Texas a number of the height states.

Abbott’s remark is in part correct but lacks context. We fee it Half True.

If you listen one thing and surely wonder whether it’s true, tell us. Email [email protected] along with your concepts. PolitiFact is a Pulitzer Prize-winning nationwide fact-checking website online that companions with newsrooms all the way through the rustic to do state and native fact-checking.

Gov. Greg Abbott tweet and State of the State speech on Feb. 16, 2023.

Site Selection, The 2022 Governor’s Cups, March 2023.

Site Selection, The Gold Standard: How Georgia Wins a Fourth Consecutive Top Business Climate Billing, November 2016.

CNBC, America’s Top States for Business 2022: The full rankings, July 13, 2022.

CNBC, America’s Top States for Business 2018, July 10, 2018.

The Tax Foundation, 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index, Oct. 25, 2022.

Phone interview with Greg LeRoy, government director of Good Jobs First, March 15.

Email interview with Jared Walczak, vp of state tasks, Tax Foundation, March 15.

Email interview with Andrew Mahaleris, spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott, March 9.

Phone interview with Richard Alm, writer-in-residence at Southern Methodist’s University Birdwell Institute for Economic Freedom, March 16.



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