Governor Greg Abbott will be in Dallas Wednesday, giving a State of the State address to North Texas business leaders.
His address is an extension of the one he held last month in Austin, this time with a focus on the Texas economy as part of a luncheon hosted by the Dallas Regional Chamber.
The governor has touted Texas as a powerhouse economy throughout the pandemic, which continues to prove true with the latest government data. Experts say Texas is good position to weather a potential national recession this year.
“Texas has been outlier compared to the rest of the country during the pandemic due to a lot of the diversified economies and diversified businesses that we have here within Texas,” said Matt Garcia, senior VP of public policy for the Dallas Regional Chamber.
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Currently, Texas leads the nation in jobs created over the past year and also leads in corporations relocating their headquarters to the state or expanding operations. Many of those relocations occurred in North Texas, which is why the DRC believes the Dallas area is leading the way in the state's success.
"We definitely have a very business friendly environment here in Texas. That's everything from low taxes, reasonable regulations and a great workforce – a great pipeline,” Garcia said.
As the federal reserve tries to tame inflation across the country, economists believe Texas' strong labor force and energy sector will help shield it from an economic slowdown we might see this year.
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We know Gov. Abbott plans to talk about this and his priorities for the ongoing legislative session, as lawmakers also divvy up money in a historically large budget surplus.
The chamber hopes part of the focus within the budget can be on addressing the growing population to keep up with demand.
“We'd like to see a lot of those budget dollars go towards water investment, infrastructure, broadband. So that the business friendly environment that we have today will continue in the future,” Garcia said.
Gov. Abbott is expected to address business leaders at the Hilton Anatole around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
