BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3186

By: Raney

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Texas Workforce Commission's skills development fund currently provides grant money through public community or technical colleges, the Texas Engineering Extension Service, community-based organizations in partnership with one of these entities, or local workforce development boards for workforce training. The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), despite offering programs that develop the state's workforce through education and training, is not included in the list of entities eligible to administer training supported by the fund. C.S.H.B. 3186 seeks to address this issue by designating TEES as an entity eligible to receive and administer skills development fund money and participate in programs supported by the fund. The bill also requires the Texas Workforce Commission to adopt a direct reimbursement procedure for employers who participate in certain fund-supported training programs.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Workforce Commission in SECTION 3 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3186 amends the Labor Code to include the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station among the higher education entities eligible for support from the skills development fund for the following purposes:

· to recover costs incurred in the development of customized assessment and training in certain demand occupations;

· to receive start-up or emergency funds for certain job-training purposes;

· to offer statewide training programs that are not available from a local junior college district, a local technical college, or a consortium of junior college districts; and

· to provide training in partnership with other eligible entities, including a community‑based organization, a public technical college, and a consortium of junior college districts.

The bill subjects the experiment station and any of its training programs supported by the fund to certain biennial review and reporting requirements in the same manner applicable to the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, a public community college, and a public technical college.

C.S.H.B. 3186 requires the Texas Workforce Commission to adopt by rule a procedure under which an employer may seek and obtain direct reimbursement from the skills development fund for costs incurred by the employer in relation to customized training or certification completed by the employer's employees under a grant agreement associated with a skills development fund program.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3186 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 includes a requirement that was not in the original for the Texas Workforce Commission to adopt by rule a direct reimbursement procedure for employers who participate in certain customized training or certification programs supported by the skills development fund.

The substitute changes the bill's effective date from the original date of on passage or September 1, 2021, if the bill does not receive the necessary votes for immediate effect, to September 1, 2021.