Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act (JETI) Frequently Asked Questions

If an eligible project is located in more than one county, the jobs and investment requirement is determined using the county with the smallest population. [Government Code §403.604 (e)] 

Permanent, full-time positions employed by the applicant, independent contractor or their employees are considered required jobs. Construction jobs are not included.

An applicant commits to create or demonstrate jobs that meet the following requirements:

• must be a new full-time job in Texas;
• must be performed at the site of the project by an employee hired by the applicant (including a Texans Work Program trainee under Labor Code, Chapter 308), or by an independent contractor or independent contractor's employee;
• must require at least 1,600 hours of work a year;
• may not be transferred from an existing facility or location in Texas unless the applicant fills the vacancy caused by the transfer;
• may not create a job to replace an existing job, unless the applicant fills the vacancy caused by the replacement;
• must offer and contribute to a group health benefit plan for each full-time employee of the applicant; and
• must meet the wage requirement.

Construction jobs are jobs that are temporary in nature, typically performed on a full-time basis and take place before the eligible project's incentive period. These jobs do not count as required jobs.

Trainees count if the individual is enrolled in the Texans Work Program and fulfills the following eligibility criteria: 

• receives a minimum monthly payment of $300;
• is engaged for a duration of at least 6 months but not exceeding one year;
• contributes at least 30 hours weekly; and 
• constitutes no more than 20% of the employer's total workforce.

All manufacturing projects and dispatchable electric generation facilities are eligible. Some water-related projects are eligible as are research and development facilities. All eligible activities have a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned.

A JETI agreement must be a “compelling factor in a competitive site selection determination and that, in the absence of the agreement, the applicant would not make the proposed investment in this state.” [Government Code, §403.609(b)(3)]

Section 9 of the Application for Taxable Value Limitation on Eligible Property for the JETI program requires that the applicant submit information regarding potential project sites outside of Texas and include incentive offers, permits obtained or any other incentive program communications.

To receive a positive recommendation from our office, evidence of a current competitive site selection process is required. Acceptable documents include detailed incentive letters from other state programs, shareholder presentations depicting alternate sites, internal comparative fiscal analysis of other locations and provisional site information for locations outside of Texas.

Financial viability of a project with or without a JETI incentive is not acceptable evidence of competitive site selection. In order to satisfy this requirement our office requires documents that show tangible project planning for project sites outside of Texas.

Land is not considered eligible investment or property. "Investment" specifically excludes the cost of land or inventory when defining the costs incurred by an applicant to acquire or construct eligible property composing an eligible project. [Government Code § 403. 602(13)] Eligible property includes new or expanded buildings and tangible personal property excluding inventory. [Government Code §403.602(9)]