Proposition 1: How $850M would be used to grow Texas' workforce

HUTTO, Texas (Nexstar) -- At the top of the constitutional amendment ballot this November is Proposition 1, a proposal to create an investment fund to support growing and improving the footprint of the Texas State Technical College (TSTC).

The TSTC offers technical vocational education and training for the future of Texas' highly-skilled workforce. It offers programs to help students gain an associates degree or certificate in a technical career like welding or HVAC technology.

A welding student works in the TSTC lab in Williamson county (Photo Courtesy: Dylan McKim/Nexstar).

Sebastian Morales is one of the students in the HVAC program at the school's Williamson County campus. He said a year ago, during his senior year at East View High School in Georgetown, he did not have a plan until a friend told him about TSTC.

"Hey, that sounds really interesting," Morales recalled.

Now he is seven weeks into his program learning about electricity and refrigeration and happy with his decision. "I'm really happy I applied here because this is probably right for me," Morales said.

Sebastian Morales, right, waits for his teacher to check his wiring work in the HVAC lab at TSTC (Photo Courtesy: Dylan McKim/Nexstar).

He is the first one in his family to attend higher education, and in just under two years, he will leave TSTC with a certification to work as an HVAC technician. He's entering a labor market with a high demand for technical workers as businesses like Tesla, Samsung and SpaceX move into Texas.

It's a demand the college is having a hard time meeting. Joe Arnold, the deputy vice chancellor in government relations for TSTC, said if the college was somehow able to quadruple the output of graduates, "there would still be a skills gap in Texas." Arnold estimates there are over a million technician positions open in Texas right now.

Gov. Greg Abbott referenced the need to grow career technical training in high schools during his State of the State address back in February. "Many of the most in-demand jobs are careers like welding, plumbing, and electricians," Abbott said.

TSTC has 11 campuses across the state with a 12th campus scheduled to open in Denton County in the next few years. Arnold said it's been a challenge for the college system to grow and renovate because of a lack of financial stability. TSTC is not like your regular community college. It's a state agency that can not call for a bond election or levy a tax on homeowners.

Students in the HVAC lab train with their instructor (Photo Courtesy: Dylan McKim/Nexstar).

"Without that, we're not able to plan and we're not able to answer the needs of employers in the communities when they say they need more welders or HVAC technicians," Arnold explained.

During the 89th legislative session, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment -- SJR 59 -- to create two funds to address this issue. If a majority of Texas voters approve Prop 1, then the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts would deposit $850 million from the state's general fund to the newly created Technical Institution Infrastructure Fund (TIFF) that would act as an endowment. It would also create the Available Workforce Education Fund (AWEF).

Some of the earnings from the TIFF will be placed in the AWEF every year, which the college system could then draw from for capital projects. The money could not be used to pay for salaries or utility bills. It is strictly for capital projects like buying land, new equipment or renovating aging buildings.

There are critics to the idea. State Representative Brian Harrison, R - Midlothian, indicated he was present and not voting during the House floor debate on SJR 59. He stated his reasoning why in the House journal.

I fully support TSTC, and I proudly filed and passed the bill last session to allow it to expand in Ellis County," Harrison wrote. "However, I voted present, not voting on SJR 59 because instead of just authorizing an appropriation of funds, we are creating another constitutionally dedicated fund which allows multiple things to happen. First, it is more 'off the books accounting' because constitutional funds are ironically not subject to the constitutional spending limit. Second, it authorizes greater expenditures in future years without legislative approval."

Texas Policy Research, a nonpartisan public policy organization that believes in limited government, echoes Harrison's concerns and recommends voters vote no on Prop 1. In its rationale for a 'no' vote, the organization said, "While expanding access to workforce education supports individual liberty and personal responsibility, embedding this preferential funding mechanism in the Constitution undermines limited government and transparency. A statutory approach with normal budget oversight would better uphold fiscal accountability."

But Arnold argues the legislature would still have oversight if the college system abused the fund. "The legislature put it on the ballot to create. The legislature could put it back on the ballot to do away with it if they want to," Arnold said. Arnold also added the fund would not create or increase any taxes for Texans.