HB 2313 – HOT Tax and PFZ

HB 2313 allows Lubbock to establish a special zone to capture and keep growing state tax revenues from local hotels, restaurants, and bars for 30 years. This is a long-term state subsidy to finance local infrastructure tied to tourism or economic development. Though it sounds like a growth strategy, the bill siphons off money that would otherwise go to the state treasury—an estimated $121 million over three decades. The measure rewards a single city with special treatment and shifts financial risk to state taxpayers. These zones lack transparency and could result result in underperforming or speculative developments. From a fiscally conservative perspective, this is another example of government trying to engineer growth through tax diversion schemes instead of market-driven investment. HB 2313 expands an expensive, unaccountable program that undermines uniform tax policy and state budgeting discipline.