North Texas Commission Mission

2. North Texas Commission Mission • The purpose of the North Texas Commission is to enhance and promote the economic vitality and quality of life of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex by providing leadership; acting as the catalyst for regional cooperation; identifying regional problems and issues; and helping create solutions for these problems and issues. • The North Texas Commission is a regional non-profit consortium of businesses, cities, counties, chambers of commerce, economic development entities and higher education institutions in the North Texas Region. The Commission is the one and only public-private regional organization committed to enhancing the overall economic vitality and quality of life of North Texas.

3. North Texas Commission History • The catalyst for the success and growth of what is now the North Texas Region began with its first major effort at cooperation - the building of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. • Beginning in 1971, the fortunes of Dallas and Fort Worth and all surrounding cities would be forever linked, and regional thinking and action would be key. • The North Texas Commission was chartered as a non-profit, membership-supported organization which would work to unify the North Texas Region and maximize the visibility of the area as an excellent place to live and do business.

4. North Texas Commission Organization • The North Texas Commission membership: • 36% businesses • 43% cities • 17% chambers/economic development entities • 4% higher education institutions • Kenneth L. Barr, Chairman • Dan S. Petty, President • 8 full-time Staff Members and 3 Consultants • $1.5 million Annual Budget

5. North Texas Commission North Texas Region • 8,990 square miles • 6.3 million citizens • 12 counties – Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise • 147 incorporated municipalities

6. Measurement of Success How Far We’ve Come • North Texas has attained rank and recognition as a major metropolitan center. • Business relocations have expanded our employment base and corporate infrastructure. • Economic diversity has generated a vibrant regional economy.

7. The Nation’s 4th Largest Metro Area

8. Fortune 500 Headquarter Locations

9. Exxon Mobil (2) • AMR (109) • Electronic Data Systems (115) • J.C. Penney (126) • Kimberly-Clark (136) • Fluor (148) • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (160) • Centex (177) • Texas Instruments (185) • Dean Foods (224) • D.R. Horton (235) • Southwest Airlines (267) • Tenet Healthcare (280) • Commercial Metals (303) • Energy Future Holdings (317) • GameStop (348) • Energy Transfer Equity (361) • Celanese (367) • Atmos Energy (416) • Affiliated Computer Services (423) • Blockbuster (434) • XTO Energy (436) • Holly (484) North Texas Fortune 500 Headquarters

10. Employment Growth • The North Texas economy added 462,700 jobs between 1998-2007. • Employment increased by 66,500 jobs in 2007. • Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the 3rd highest percent employment gain among major metros between December 2006 and December 2007.

11. Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area Employment by Business Size Source: Texas Workforce Commission UIL Accounts, 4th Quarter 2007

12. Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area Employers by Business Size Source: Texas Workforce Commission UIL Accounts, 4th Quarter 2007

13. New and Expanded Industrial Facilities • Dallas-Fort Worth ranked sixth among the largest U.S. metro areas in the number of new and expanded corporate facilities in 2007 with 73 major corporate projects. • Texas placed fifth among the states, with 281 new and expanded facilities.

14. Major Projects Under Development Source: Development Monitoring, 1st Qtr. 2008 North Central Texas Council of Governments

15. Gross Domestic Product by Metro Area

16. Measurement of Success Where We Are The North Texas Commission will: • continue efforts to promote regional cooperation and unity • seek strategic solutions for issues critical to the continued economic growth of North Texas • collaborate with regional organizations to facilitate urgent infrastructure improvements • work to preserve and improve the components that define our quality of life throughout the region

17. NTC Program of Work • Transportation Advocacy Promote increased investment in transportation, build an informed constituency for transportation, work with other transportation advocacy groups, and support regional transportation planners and providers. • Environmental Programs NTC is a founding member of the North Texas Clean Air Coalition and the Texas Clean Air Working Group, which work to reduce emissions that pollute the air. NTC supports the implementation of the Area C Regional Water Plan. • Airport and Aviation Advocacy Continue to assist D/FW International Airport with its efforts to increase air service and air routes. Support air cargo development for North Texas and market North Texas general aviation airports to help expand facilities and increase business development.

18. NTC Program of Work • Long-Range Strategies NTC will identify, study and seek long-term solutions for issues affecting the region in the areas of education, economic development, regional cooperation, workforce development and population change. • R&R Program at DFW Airport NTC manages the volunteers for the U.S. Military’s Rest and Recuperation (R&R) Program by scheduling community groups to greet incoming soldiers. • Super Bowl Host Committee NTC helped facilitate regional support for the winning Super Bowl XLV Bid, which will have an estimated economic impact of $350 million to the region.

19. Measurement of Success Where We’re Going • Throughout its history, the North Texas Commission has worked to address regional problems and opportunities while focusing on ways to unify North Texas. As we move further into the new and challenging century, the North Texas Commission will continue to identify regional solutions and "Build the Region of Choice."

20. Transportation Issues • Transportation system demands are outpacing investment requirements. • Rising maintenance costs are consuming practically all of the traditional transportation funding, leaving almost nothing for expansion. • The fuel tax, which has been the key funding source for our system, no longer produces sufficient revenue at current rates. • Direct user fees such as tolls and mileage-based charges will likely replace the fuel tax over the next 10-15 years.

21. Transportation Solutions • Authorize local revenue options to fund regional rail. The RTC, business leaders and transportation advocates, in consultation with State Legislators, will develop a consensus package of revenue sources to fund regional rail an other priority transportation projects. • Stop diverting transportation revenue and funding to other uses. The current biennial diversion of transportation resources to other uses exceeds $1.5 billion and increases each biennium. • Increase motor fuel tax revenue by indexing the motor fuels tax. The motor fuel tax has lost its purchasing power due to inflation.

22. Transportation Solutions • Recapitalize the Texas Mobility Fund. Transportation revenues reallocated from the General Revenue Fund to the Texas Mobility Fund in 2003 have now all been committed to service debt issued to build projects. To continue this form of bond financing of new capacity projects will require another infusion of transportation revenue from GRF001 to TMF356. • Capitalize the Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund. The major metropolitan areas in Texas have identified costly needs to reroute significant freight rail traffic from inner city rail lines. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2005 to establish a fund for such purpose, but the Legislature so far has not found a funding source to capitalize the rail relocation and improvement fund.

23. Transportation Solutions • Authorize metro-area counties to enact a local option transportation fee. Metro areas need authority to raise revenue, with voter approval, to fund transportation improvements. Possible revenue options include an additional vehicle registration fee and/or a local sales tax on motor fuel. • Revise the provisions of SB 792 regarding regional primacy, CDAs, market valuation, etc. as/if agreed to by RTC & NTTA. If North Texas does not have a unified policy position on these important public-private funding policy questions they will be defined by others, perhaps to our detriment. • Allocate to each of the 25 TxDOT districts 90% of the gas taxes and vehicle registration fees each generates. Billions of dollars of transportation fees and taxes generated by North Texas residents have been sent to Austin and distributed by the Transportation Commission to the benefit of other regions.

24. Air Quality Issues • The North Texas region is classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a "non-attainment" area for the pollutant ozone. • The non-attainment area must come into compliance with current federal standards for ground-level ozone by 2010. • The federal government is considering a more stringent ozone standard of 75ppb. • Sanctions for non-compliance include limitations on industrial growth and a loss of transportation funds. • Compliance with the Clean Air Act standard for ozone is important to avoid economic sanctions and to protect the health of North Texas residents.

25. Air Quality Solutions • Getting EPA approval of the DFW 8-hour SIP. Meteorological and photochemical modeling is conducted to support the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for controlling ozone pollution in the Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) area. • Increase public awareness. NTCAC works to inform the public of air quality issues and promote transportation alternatives such as carpooling and public transportation to decrease the number of vehicles traveling during pollution watch days. • Encourage business cooperation. Educate businesses on the benefits of telecommuting, flexible work schedules, and developing incentives for their employees to use mass transit.

26. Literacy Issues • Nationally, 43% of illiterate adults live in poverty. • 65% of the children of illiterate adults become illiterate adults themselves. • Texas has the highest percent of low literacy adults in the South: 28%. • Texas ranks 39th among all states for high school graduation. • Texas ranks 47 out of 50 states for English language literacy. • As of 2000, Texas high school dropouts qualify for only 14% of existing jobs. • Nearly one-third of high-tech companies in Texas cited an insufficient supply of skilled workers as their main obstacle to expansion. • Texans pay $17.5 billion to cover costs associated with illiteracy and lost productivity.

27. Literacy Solutions • Literacy The North Texas Future Fund commissioned the Survey Research Center at the University of North Texas to obtain a scientific sampling by ZIP of residents in Collin, Dallas, Tarrant and Denton Counties, so they will have a benchmark for literacy, education and economic levels. The North Texas Literacy Project’s task forces will be able to measure their progress against these benchmarks and adjust programs as needed. • Leadership North Texas Respond to the growing need for regional stewards to address the many issues and challenges that cross local political boundaries and are beyond a city’s capacity to address unilaterally; namely, physical infrastructure, environment, economy and workforce.

28. North Texas Commission FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact NTC at: 972.621.0400 e-mail us at: ntc@ntc-dfw.org visit NTC’s website at: www.ntc-dfw.org