AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - County commissioners rejected tax breaks for Apple Computer Inc., losing 700 local jobs, because the company grants health benefits to domestic partners of both heter-osexual and homosexual em-ploy-ees.Williamson County commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to reject the tax abatements, saying Apple is wrong to support same-sex partners.
"I just believe if you got moral convictions there's a time to exercise them or do away with the convictions you got," Commissioner Jerry Mehevec said.
Apple had sought $750,000 in tax abatements over seven years for its proposed $80 million facility in southern Williamson County, just north of Austin.
Now, "it is unlikely we will locate in Williamson County," Apple spokeswoman Lisa Byrne said.
Gov. Ann Richards called the vote "a local decision and we must respect it."
The Lesbian-Gay Rights Lobby of Texas denounced the decision.
"I believe it is a shame to stunt needed economic growth due to this type of bigotry," said the group's director, Dianne Hardy-Garcia.
The decision works against efforts by Texas economic development officials to recruit businesses from northern California's Silicon Valley, where Apple is based.
"I don't agree with the idea of same-sex marriages, but government needs to stay out of business. Families need jobs," said Charlie Culpepper, the mayor of Round Rock, the county's largest town.