Historic port funding

Celebrating the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC)-approved historic $240 million in funding for Texas ports at the end of 2023, guests gathered in Port Arthur to welcome two legislators that helped secure $66 million of that allotment in funding to four Southeast Texas ports to help increase trade, improve safety, and provide a more robust supply chain for the state and that nation – House Speaker and State Rep. Dade Phelan and State Sen. Robert Nichols.

Signed into law by the governor in September 2023 as the first funding of its kind in Texas, TTC approved $200 million for port development and infrastructure projects through the Maritime Infrastructure Program (MIP). Additionally, the 88th Legislature reestablished the Port Access Account fund, which was created during the 77th Legislative Session, for maritime port capital improvement projects, which was added to $40 million earmarked for state highway and other public transportation roadway projects through the Seaport Connectivity Program (SCP).

Port of Orange Director/CEO Lorrie Taylor stated that the $66 million to stay in Southeast Texas for significant infrastructure and connectivity projects will fund a portion of six projects in the Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange and Sabine Pass areas. She added that the six port projects will invest more than $84.8 million in both port and TxDOT funds into Southeast Texas. If not for local representatives in state roles, the much-needed funding for port projects was not likely to happen, Taylor explained.

“Without the efforts from our legislators, many of the projects being funded by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Seaport Connectivity Program and the Maritime Infrastructure Program over the next two years would have been put on hold due to lack of funding,” Taylor said, adding that Phelan (R-Beaumont) advocated for the only maritime program located in Southeast Texas, which is located at Lamar State College Orange.

“Through his efforts,” Taylor said of the Texas Speaker of the House, “he helped for a way to sustain current growth, using funds appropriated to the programs; and has ensured he will support this growth through advocating for local educational institutions which strengthen our future workforce.”

According to Phelan, the state budget this cycle included the $240 million to TxDOT for port capital improvement projects, as well as $400 million for the Ship Channel Improvement Revolving Loan Program. The money, Phelan detailed, is akin to putting gas in a car.

“We built a car many years ago, but we didn’t put any gas in the car,” Phelan said. With the new funding allotment, “We put the gas in the car and made it accessible.”

When the funding was announced, the local representative heralded the boon to Southeast Texas.

“This unprecedented funding is great news for Texans and will be critical for the robust port development and expansion happening along our Gulf Coast communities, including right here in Texas House District 21,” Phelan announced. “As the Texas economy continues to thrive, it is essential that the state prioritizes investments toward our ports, roads and rails – and this is an important step toward maintaining that commitment.”

Funding the ports also funds communities and families throughout the region. Phelan added that 1.8 million jobs in the state are direct results of the ports.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our ports in Southeast Texas,” Phelan told the roughly 100 stakeholders in attendance at the year-end celebration. “They have the fastest growth and the most potential than anywhere in Texas, maybe anywhere in this country. 

“We’ve never had funding like this for our ports in our history until now.”

Phelan pointed to supply chain issues and “bottlenecks” on the supply chain transported through the East and West Coast during the COVID-19 pandemic that never occurred in Southeast Texas. Phelan said legislators in Austin do not understand the importance of the ports, but that’s a learning curve he hopes to break.

“We have to explain to them how important it is; the economic driving force of ports and every tonnage you can take off our roads and can put it on our ports or put it in pipelines is a win for the State of Texas,” he explained, adding that 40% of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) are from the counties on the Texas coast.

“One out of four dollars are directly related to our ports in Texas,” Phelan advised. “When they pull that stuff out of the ground in Midland, they send it to us and turn it into money. We put it on the water and ship it all over the world. We are the economic engine of this state, and our ports are at the         center.”

According to Phelan, in 2015, Lamar University received funding for its Maritime graduate degree, the first in the United States. He said the only other two places in the world to earn a Maritime graduate degree were in Dubai and England.

Nichols (R-Jacksonville), who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said the local ports are making “a huge impact” on national trade goods.

“We’ve worked on this for years and years and created a fund to put money into it more than a decade ago,” Nichols said. “We passed a bill to create a fund for the waterways. About four or five sessions ago, we started putting $20 million a year into access projects to the ports, then we increased it to about $40 million a session to access ports but not on the inside of the gates and not on the funding for the waterway itself.”

Nichols said it wasn’t a Republican or Democratic issue: “It belongs to everybody.”

“Texas ports play a critical role in our state’s booming economy, helping Texas continue to drive America’s economy and remain a hub for international trade,” Governor Greg Abbott said when approving the added port funding. “I thank the Texas Legislature for bringing this legislation to my desk and the Texas Transportation Commission for approving this crucial funding to ensure Texas has the infrastructure needed to support America’s supply chain and promote continued economic growth and activity. This historic investment will not only bolster Texas’ ports infrastructure, it will help build a brighter economic future for all Texans.”

“Texas has two of the three largest ports in the U.S. based on tonnage, so this will not only benefit Texans, but the entire nation,” said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. “The unprecedented funding commitment by Governor Abbott, the Texas Legislature, and the commission benefits the entire Texas port system and serves as a catalyst for job creation, business development, and a more resilient supply chain.”

Data from the governor’s office indicates that Texas ports contribute $450 billion in economic activity statewide.

“Between the federal and state funding, we are at an unbelievable crossroads in Southeast Texas and I could not be more excited,” Phelan said.