| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Negative | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Neutral |
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 3888 seeks to create
the Barrett Management District (BMD) to promote, develop, encourage, and
maintain employment, commerce, transportation, housing, tourism, recreation,
the arts, entertainment, economic development, safety, and the public welfare
in the district.
All or part of the
district is eligible to be included in a tax increment or abatement
reinvestment zone, and enterprise zone, or an industrial district.
The nine directors of
the district may be compensated up to $150 for each day spent working for
duties related to being a director. The total amount a director may be
compensated for each year may not exceed $7,200.
The district could
only finance services and improvement projects from the approval from the
owners of a majority of the assessed property values or at least with the
consent of 25 land owners in the district. The district may not exercise
eminent domain authority.
The BMD would be
located in Harris County. According to the author’s statement of intent, “Interested
parties contend that certain land within the unincorporated area of Harris
County would benefit from the creation of a management district to provide to
provide for financing, constructing, and operating a broad spectrum of
high-quality infrastructure necessary to attract and support commercial
development.”
HB 3888 would give
this new management district authority allowing it to promote, develop,
encourage, and maintain employment, commerce, transportation, housing, tourism,
recreation, the arts, entertainment, economic development, safety, and the
public welfare in the district.
The BMD would be a
part of a broader class of special districts known as Municipal Management
Districts (MMD). This bill would grant municipal-type authority to a
non-municipal entity, essentially creating a city within a city that lacks true
accountability, which does not bode well towards supporting our liberty
principles.
For these reasons, we oppose HB 3888 because it is not the proper role of government to spur economic growth development. The idea that government can and should play such a role in the economy has always been an insidious backdoor towards more government which distorts the marketplace, picks economic winners and losers, and infringes on individual liberty. For these reasons we oppose HB 3888.
The second chamber
sponsor is Senator Whitmire.