HAYS CALDWELL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP
Though Texas and local economies have slowed a bit from a year ago, they are still booming. The Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership hosted its annual Economic Outlook to bring together local leaders to discuss the factors at play and ways to bolster local industries. Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse gave the opening remarks, and the keynote speaker for the evening was Luis Torres, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas - San Antonio senior business economist. There was a panel discussion moderated by Mike Kamerlander, HCEDP president and CEO, that included Aaron Demerson, the Texas Economic Development Corporation president and CEO, Gabriela Perdichizzi, the Texas Association of Business government and external relations vice president, and Tony Bennett, Texas Association of Manufacturers president and CEO.
Damphousse said the Economic Outlook gets at the heart of exactly what TXST aims to do — shape the region through workforce development and quality education.
“We take great pride in partnering with you on that,” Damphousse said. “The I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin is projected to double by 2025, surpassing Houston and the DFW Metroplex combined. This next great American Metroplex inspires us to rise to the challenge. Texas State is at the heart of this growth in our San Marcos campus, between the seventh and tenth largest U.S. cities, and our Round Rock Campus is strategically bookending Austin as well. We’re preparing graduates to meet the evolving workforce demands while building a research enterprise that fuels innovation and keeps Texas competitive globally.”
Torres said that the Texas economy is “slowing down” compared to where it was a year ago.
“The good news is that also inflation is coming down, [but it is] still not at the target level,” Torres said. “The other good news is the strength of the economy. I think what surprised us all, and is still surprising us all right, is how resilient and strong the economy has been. Yes, we’re slowing down, but still [there is an] overall positive, strong U.S. economy, Texas economy and local economies in the state of Texas.
“The other thing [is that the] unemployment rate right now continues to be low, around 4.2%, [which is the] same unemployment rate here in Texas.”
Bennett said there are items in the current Texas legislative session, which was upcoming at the time of the event, that will be critical to the advancement of the manufacturing and other industries in Texas.
“As far as the Texas Association of manufacturing is concerned, probably the top economic development bill is going to be the research and development tax incentive,” Bennett said. “To quickly advance manufacturing in the state, you have to have research and development and innovation going on. And we do … but other states have incentives that are far and way better than ours. In this particular area, R and D is critical. It is the gateway to manufacturing investment. With artificial intelligence coming in faster and faster and becoming more of a part of the manufacturing process — from the supply chain to warehousing to production to quality control — AI is going to be throughout all of those segments of manufacturing process and every service industry as well.”
Perdichizzi agreed the next legislative session would be an opportunity to “make great strides” in maintaining and advancing Texas’ position of economic leadership.
“I think it’s really important that the business community, the local communities, really stay engaged this session. There’s a lot on the table. The things that Tony mentioned, we are also going to be strongly engaged in those R and D tax credits,” Perdichizzi said. “Tony and I are in a group called Texans for Innovation. We’ve been working behind the scenes on this effort for the last year. We have a really great study that we’re looking forward to releasing soon. It’s going to have some great economic impact numbers that [we] can really take to the legislature to advocate for. … The water fund is also very important. Water is infrastructure, and infrastructure is economic development. We need water. We need more of it in our communities but also for industries. We need to be able to be a place that industries can rely on to have a reliable water supply, and we also need to make sure our communities have the water that they need in order to thrive and support the people coming to their communities.”
Demerson underscored the importance of the business community advocating for its needs with elected officials.
“[Elected Officials] really listen to what our employers are wanting and what our employers need, so if they don’t hear about it, then we can’t do much about it. So I can’t overstate the … [importance] of getting involved, letting these individuals know what’s on the mind, because … they want to do the right thing,” Demerson said. “They’re here for six months most of the time. Sometimes there’s special sessions, but six months is what we do to make it happen.”
Watch the full 2025 Economic Outlook at youtube.com/ watch?v=mWKj9Rs4Csk.
