Texas governor calls for more developer incentives

Texas Governor Rick Perry gave the Entertainment Software Association another reason to support him today, calling on the legislature to continue funding a tax break program for high-tech businesses like game developers in his State of the State address today.

Since September of 2005, Texas' Emerging Technology Fund has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to companies developing and commercializing new technologies. According to the ESA, Texas spent $234 million on the ETF in 2009 alone, adding 3,400 permanent employees to the Texas workforce.

"As the nation struggles to recover from the ongoing economic crisis, and states go head-to-head for new jobs, now is not the time for Texas to roll up our tents and go home," Perry said. "Instead, it's time to keep attracting good Texas jobs by funding our premiere economic development tools like the Enterprise Fund, and the Emerging Technology Fund."

Perry added that the funding will be necessary to stay competitive with other states looking to attract the same jobs. He specifically noted efforts by the governors of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and New Jersey to launch ETF-like incentives in their own states.

While the ESA didn't address those potential efforts, it did release a statement backing Perry's efforts in no uncertain terms.

"Governor Perry has again demonstrated his understanding of 21st Century job creation and growth," said ESA president Michael Gallagher. "We commend his leadership and commitment to providing Texans jobs by aggressively pursuing video game industry development for his state. Our industry’s employees are highly educated professionals with an average annual salary of $88,000. These are exactly the types of creative and dynamic jobs for which other states are competing. We encourage the legislature to work with follow Governor Perry and strongly support this proposal for job creation and economic growth."

Perry and the ESA have been cozy in the past. In 2008, the governor delivered the keynote address of the ESA's signature annual event, the Electronic Entertainment Expo.