AUSTIN - Today, Senate Bill (S.B.) 100 by Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, relating to the Texas Enterprise Zone Program, passed unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development. When the Enterprise Zone Program was created in 1988, modeled after President Reagan's federal enterprise zone initiative, the objective was to create jobs in economically distressed communities by providing businesses with performance-based incentives to locate and invest in economically distressed areas. Over the years the program moved away from its mission of creating jobs and from assisting with job retention in extenuating circumstances.

S.B. 100 restructures the enterprise zone program by placing an emphasis on projects that create new jobs and enhances other provisions of the program.

Senator Hinojosa issued the following statement:

"Putting Texans to work and helping working families has always been at the top of my legislative agenda. S.B. 100 will help put Texans to work so that they can provide for their families."

"The Enterprise Zone Program is an active and popular economic development incentive tool for businesses looking to bring capital investment and jobs to economically distressed communities. S.B. 100 strikes a good balance of emphasizing new job creation projects while maintaining incentives for businesses that need help with job retention."

"S.B. 100 allows small businesses to participate in the Enterprise Zone Program and also incentivizes and awards businesses that hire honorably discharged veterans so that our heroes can look forward to civilian job opportunities when they come back home."

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