BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 626

By: Rosenthal

Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that, while many organizations serve to reintegrate veterans into civilian life, these organizations often struggle to meet the financial needs to provide vocational training. The Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (ACE) Grant Program provides grants to eligible nonprofit workforce intermediary and job training organizations to develop, support, and expand programs that prepare low-income students to enter careers in high-demand and significantly higher-earning occupations. There have been calls to expand the program to include nonprofit organizations providing job training to certain veterans. C.S.H.B. 626 seeks to provide for this expansion by including nonprofit organizations that serve veterans and meet certain criteria as eligible grant recipients.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 626 amends the Education Code to expand the Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (ACE) Grant Program by including as grant recipients eligible nonprofit organizations providing job training to veterans and including as a purpose of the program preparing veterans to enter careers in high-demand and significantly higher-earning occupations. The bill defines "veteran" for purposes of the program.

C.S.H.B. 626 requires a nonprofit organization serving veterans to meet the following program eligibility criteria:

· apply to the grant administrator in the manner prescribed by the administrator;

· provide job training and a continuum of services designed to move a program participant from application to employment;

· be governed by a board or other governing structure that includes specified stakeholders;

· demonstrate to the satisfaction of the program advisory board that the organization's program has achieved or will achieve, among program participants, rapid attainment of civilian workforce credentials and entry into careers with significantly higher earnings than previously achieved; and

· provide matching funds from any source available to the organization in accordance with rules adopted by the grant administrator.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 626 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute excludes a person who has served in the Texas State Guard from the definition of "veteran" for purposes of the grant program.