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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to an annual report by the Texas Division of Emergency |
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Management regarding building trade services following disasters. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 418, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 418.059 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 418.059. REPORT ON BUILDING TRADE SERVICES FOLLOWING |
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DISASTERS. (a) Not later than November 1 of each year, the division |
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shall submit a report to members of the legislature on improving the |
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oversight, accountability, and availability of building trade |
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services following disasters. The report must include: |
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(1) the number and economic impact of tradespeople in |
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communities affected by a disaster; |
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(2) strategies for using a workforce that has been |
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trained in a United States Department of Labor Industry-Recognized |
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Apprenticeship Program or Registered Apprenticeship Program to |
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increase the availability of tradespeople, including plumbers and |
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electricians, following a disaster; |
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(3) approaches to increase prosecutions of alleged |
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fraud relating to building trade services offered following a |
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disaster, including wage theft and worker misclassification; and |
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(4) methods to encourage performance bond |
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requirements in contracts for building trade services to be |
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performed following a disaster. |
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(b) The division shall consult with appropriate state |
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entities, including the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and |
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, local governments, |
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trade associations, United States Department of Labor Registered |
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Apprenticeship Programs, and law enforcement groups in preparing |
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the report described by Subsection (a). |
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(c) The report described by Subsection (a) must include the |
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methodology of the contents of the report, including the type and |
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nature of information provided by the entities described by |
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Subsection (b). |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |