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Dear Texas Economic Development Stakeholders,
Last week we celebrated an important week for both our state and our nation—National Small Business Week. Throughout the week, we honored Texas' many small businesses and recognized the critical role they play in growing our economy. In fact, 99.8% of all businesses in Texas are small and they employ nearly half of all working Texans. Although this year's Small Business Week was unlike others before, it served as a crucial reminder of just how vital small businesses are to the future of our state.
That's why our office remains focused on providing our state's small business community with information to help plan for the future. We continue to offer technical assistance, resource referrals and small business webinars to help businesses recover, innovate and pivot towards a stronger competitive edge. We also aim to provide timely updates on the latest status of business openings.
On September 17, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott announced select expanded business openings in Texas. Certain entities, including gyms and exercise facilities, manufacturers, museums and libraries, office-based employers, restaurants and retailers are permitted to begin operating at up to 75% capacity as of September 21, 2020. These business must be located in a hospital service area with low COVID-19 hospitalization rates.
For more details on the current status of business openings, visit the Open Texas website. And for more information on our office's recovery efforts, or to get in touch, visit our website. Please continue to stay healthy, hopeful and #TexasBizStrong!
-Governor's Economic Development & Tourism Office #TexasBizStrong
Division Spotlight: Economic Development Finance
 The Economic Development Finance Division works within the Governor's Economic Development & Tourism Office to provide globally competitive, cost-effective financial tools and incentives to support and facilitate business expansion and relocation to Texas. The division ensures Texas communities and businesses have access to capital for economic development purposes through programs such as:
The Texas Enterprise Fund serves as a performance-based incentive for companies considering relocating or expanding in the state and would contribute significant capital investment and create new jobs for Texans, where one Texas site is competing with other out-of-state locations.
The Texas Enterprise Zone Program offers state sales and use tax refunds to promote job creation and capital investment that will assist economically distressed areas of the state.
The Event Trust Funds Program helps attract various types of events that bring significant economic impact to the state by assisting Texas communities with paying costs related to preparing for or conducting an event.
The Texas Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund is a revolving loan program with the primary objective of aiding in the development, production and commercialization of new or improved products by Texas small businesses in order to foster and stimulate small business growth in the state.
The Governor’s University Research Initiative is an effort to bring the best and brightest researchers in the world to Texas. The grant program assists eligible institutions of higher education in recruiting Nobel Laureates and other distinguished researchers.
Honoring Hispanic Heritage in Texas
Each year, National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15. During this month, we celebrate the histories, cultures and immeasurable contributions that Hispanic Americans have had on our nation and our state.
In Texas, we recognize the rich cultural and economic impacts of Hispanic Texans, which have shaped the fabric of our state and our society. We are proud to be home to one of the largest Hispanic populations in the country, totaling 11.5 million in 2019—nearly 40% of the population. The growth of Hispanic Texans over the last 10 years has accounted for nearly 54% of our state's total population growth, showing just how quickly the Hispanic population continues to increase.
This month, we also celebrate those that have chosen to follow their entrepreneurial dreams in Texas, helping to drive growth for our state's economy. In fact, Texas is #2 in the country for jobs created by Hispanic-owned businesses and #1 for jobs created by Hispanic women-owned businesses. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Hispanic business owners, half of the cities on WalletHub’s “Top 20 Best Cities for Hispanic Entrepreneurs in the U.S.” are located in Texas.
Throughout this month, we will continue to celebrate the achievements of Hispanic Texans and recognize their significant contributions to our state and its economy. For more information on National Hispanic Heritage Month, go to www.state.gov/hispanic-heritage-month-2020.
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 State Agency Partner Spotlight: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
The Texas Comptroller's Office serves as the central agency for tax collection, accounting, revenue estimation and purchasing for the State of Texas. The Office plays a critical role in economic development efforts by helping paint a current and future picture of the Texas economy through their annual financial reports and estimates on future state revenues. Local officials and businesses also look to the Office for economic development guidance and data analysis. And Texas businesses depend on the Comptroller’s office to safeguard their tax dollars and ensure they are handled wisely. For more on the Comptroller's Office, visit their website.
Recent Project Announcements
The state of Texas remains extremely attractive to relocating and expanding corporations, and local and regional communities across the state continue to be highly competitive in attracting new business investment. Both urban and rural areas of the state are seeing significant project activity, new job opportunities and new capital investment in their regions.
Wesco Aircraft Hardware Corp. in Fort Worth: Wesco Aircraft announced the relocation of their headquarters from California to Texas, bringing more than $6 million in capital investment and up to 239 jobs to the Fort Worth area.
Channel Control Merchants in Marshall: Channel Control Merchants, owner of Dirt Cheap, will bring 500 new jobs and approximately $2 million in capital investment to its new operation in Marshall.
Ariat in Fort Worth: Ariat announced they will be expanding their presence in Texas. The new regional distribution hub and corporate office in Fort Worth will create 75 new jobs and $40 million in capital investment.
OW Lee in Comfort: Outdoor manufacturer, OW Lee announced plans to make Texas its new home. The company will relocate its headquarters from California to Comfort, Texas.
FedEx Logistics in El Paso: FedEx Logistics is expanding its footprint of Foreign Trade Zones in Texas with a new location in El Paso.
Banorte Securities International in Houston: Banorte Securities, an investment management and brokerage service company, relocated its U.S. headquarters from New York to Houston.
Amazon Hiring in Dallas and Austin: Amazon announced plans to add 6,500 jobs, both full- and part-time, in the Dallas area and more than 1,700 full-time jobs in the Austin area this year.
Yesway in Fort Worth: Convince store retailer, Yesway, which acquired the Allsup’s Convenience Stores Inc. chain last year, announced it will move its headquarters from Iowa to Fort Worth.
HelloFresh in Irving: HelloFresh is rolling out a new facility in Irving that will include office space, cold storage, packing and shipping areas. The project is expected to create up to 1,200 new jobs.
Colgan Industries in Dayton: Colgan-Wilson Metals, LLC, also known as Colgan Industries, will be bringing at least 15 jobs and $1.9 million in investment to Dayton, Texas.
New Events Coming to Texas
World Series, Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and Professional Bull Riders World Finals will be held in Texas in 2020
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association announced that the National Finals Rodeo will be back in Texas for 2020. After being held in Las Vegas for 59 years, the event will now be held in the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth. This major event will not only draw tourism and grow jobs, but will spur economic activity for local economies. In addition, the 2020 World Series will be headed to Texas. Four National League Teams will play in Houston and Arlington for the playoffs. Adding to this spectacular lineup of events is the Professional Bull Riders World Finals, which will be moved to Arlington from Las Vegas for 2020, marking the first time the championship will be held in the state.
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In the News
Texas Entrepreneur Named 2020 Small Business Person of the Year
During National Small Business Week, the U.S Small Business Administration recognized San Antonio small business owner, Timothy Porter of Appddiction Studio, LLC as 2020 National Small Business Person of the Year. More here.
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McKinney Innovation Fund is Drawing Hundreds of New Jobs and Tech HQs
McKinney Economic Development Corporation’s Innovation Fund, which was created in January of this year, is landing tech startups at warp speed. Over its first eight months, the Innovation Fund, an incentive-based fund for tech startups in specific industries, has generated 11 new tech headquarters, startup relocations and expansions for a total of 230 new jobs. More here.
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Austin Community College was Selected by the Army Futures Command for New Software Incubator
The U.S. Army Futures Command selected Austin Community College as the home base for its new Software Factory training initiative. The unit will act as a “train-with-industry” pipeline to teach soldiers and civilians how to solve military problems using cloud technology and software, as well as to help develop technology for the Army. More here.
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