![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2013\/04\/Calhoun-County-0163-300x200.jpg\" "\\"Calhoun")
Dave Fehling \/ StateImpact Texas<\/p>
Cattle ranch borders petrochemical plant in Calhoun County<\/p><\/div>\n
“It’s not as simple as saying yeah, it\u2019s a negative for everybody and everybody is going to move out of the state if we have more stringent regulation,” said Daniel Millimet, an environmental economist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.<\/p>\n
The idea that too much regulation can scare off business has been a main thrust of some of the state’s environmental regulators like David Porter, one of the three elected leaders of the Texas Railroad Commission. Speaking last October at oil and gas drillers conference in San Antonio, Porter contended that should Texas succumb to the stricter pollution regulation of the federal government, disaster would follow for the state’s booming drilling industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will cripple the industry and it will cripple our economy. We must keep regulation of Texas\u2019s natural resources in Texas by Texans,” Porter told the convention. “It is the Railroad Commission\u2019s long history of wisely enforcing state regulations that has allowed oil and gas to drive our economy and establish Texas as a national economic powerhouse.”<\/p>\n
No doubt about the powerhouse part.<\/p>\n
“Texas,of course, hands down is just killing it as far job creation, capital investment and attracting companies to its state,” said Lee Higgins with the Site Selection Group, a Dallas company that works with governments and businesses to find locations for industrial plants, warehouses and offices.<\/p>\n
Texas Knows How to Do Business<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2013\/04\/Pic-David-Porter-at-DUG1-300x225.jpg\" "\\"")
Dave Fehling \/ StateImpact Texas<\/p>
David Porter, Texas Railroad Commission, speaking to drillers at DUG conference in San Antonio in October 2012<\/p><\/div>\n
Higgins says Texas is recognized as the leader in finding ways to attract jobs and not just in the traditional petroleum and chemical sector but also in alternatives using wind to make electricity. The Governor’s office just launched an attack that uses a radio ad<\/a> to be aired in Illinois to persuade businesses there to move to Texas. The Governor had previously targeted <\/a>California.<\/p>\nBills Limit Regulation<\/h4>\n
Making sure no industry is too encumbered by environmental regulation seems to be the aim of\u00a0 several bills before the Texas legislature.<\/p>\n
\n- There’s a bill to eliminate public hearings<\/a> when state-issued pollutions permits are challenged.<\/li>\n
- Another calls for the speedy processing of pollution permits<\/a> if it would “benefit the local or state economy.”<\/li>\n
- Another demands a study to make sure Texas environmental laws are no more stringent “than the minimum acceptable standards<\/a>.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What the Research Tells Us<\/strong><\/h4>\nBut economists in Texas and other states tell StateImpact that when it comes to creating jobs, there’s no clear evidence that minimizing environmental regulation will help.<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s very hard to find statistical evidence that that is true, but you do see examples of that argument being made,” said Arik Levinson, an environmental economist at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n
Dave Fehling \/ StateImpact Texas<\/p>
David Porter, Texas Railroad Commission, speaking to drillers at DUG conference in San Antonio in October 2012<\/p><\/div>\n
Higgins says Texas is recognized as the leader in finding ways to attract jobs and not just in the traditional petroleum and chemical sector but also in alternatives using wind to make electricity. The Governor’s office just launched an attack that uses a radio ad<\/a> to be aired in Illinois to persuade businesses there to move to Texas. The Governor had previously targeted <\/a>California.<\/p>\n Making sure no industry is too encumbered by environmental regulation seems to be the aim of\u00a0 several bills before the Texas legislature.<\/p>\n But economists in Texas and other states tell StateImpact that when it comes to creating jobs, there’s no clear evidence that minimizing environmental regulation will help.<\/p>\n “I think it\u2019s very hard to find statistical evidence that that is true, but you do see examples of that argument being made,” said Arik Levinson, an environmental economist at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.<\/p>\nBills Limit Regulation<\/h4>\n
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What the Research Tells Us<\/strong><\/h4>\n