The Texas Enterprise Fund took a hit for lack of transparency in a new research paper from the National Freedom of Information Coalition.
The paper by journalist Steve Miller is titled “Invisible Incentives: How Secrecy Impedes Evaluation and Accountability of Economic Development Subsidies.” Part of the paper spotlights the Texas Enterprise Fund, which the Legislature created in 2003 to provide taxpayer money to companies in exchange for the promise of jobs.
“But in numerous cases, the money has been paid and the companies left shortly after the deal was completed, taking the jobs with them,” the paper’s author writes. “The public rarely hears of it, and the money spent is rarely recouped, although because of the opacity surrounding the TEF, it’s difficult to discern if any financial recovery by the state is achieved.”
