BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The acting comptroller of Texas, Kelly Hancock, was the keynote speaker at a Texas Talks luncheon hosted recently by Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.
His presentation was titled “Fiscal Futures Briefing.”
The event took place at the Brownsville Events Center.
In the Q&A portion of the event, Esmy Villarreal, president of the Brownsville Chamber, asked Hancock how Texas could lose its competitive edge. He responded:
“Failure to compete with other states. I think a lot of people don't realize that… for example, there are projects here that I can't go into a lot of detail (about); where other states are offering large sums of money.”
Hancock said it is important for the Legislature to run understand that Texas is competing with other states.
“Other states have seen the success we've had, and they're trying to lure businesses there as well. So we have to maintain a business-friendly environment and property taxes are going to be an issue,” Hancock said.
“We can't just address property taxes for voters and put the burden on businesses and continue the economic success. So, I would say that.”
Hancock added: “Another one is local debt. When I talked about our state debt being amongst of the lowest in the nation, our local debt is amongst the highest in the nation. And so these are the things that do concern me from an economic standpoint.”
Editor’s Note: Here, below, is an audio recording of everything Hancock said at the Brownsville Chamber event. It includes questions from the audience.
