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House Bill 2421 |
House Author: Chavez et al. |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Zaffirini |
House Bill 2421 amends the Labor Code to reduce by one-tenth of one percent the contribution rate of a new employer and the rate of the replenishment tax paid by an experience-rated employer under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act. The bill imposes, on or after January 1, 2006, an employment and training investment assessment of one-tenth of one percent of wages paid by employers subject to the Act, and it requires the revenue to be deposited in a special holding fund administrated by the comptroller. The bill requires prescribed amounts of the holding fund to be transferred to the Texas enterprise fund and the skills development fund if the unemployment compensation fund exceeds a specified level or to the compensation fund if that fund falls below the specified level. The bill establishes the training stabilization fund financed by remaining amounts in the holding fund after the prescribed amounts are transferred from the holding fund to the Texas enterprise fund and skills development fund or to the compensation fund, depending on the level of the compensation fund. It authorizes money in the stabilization fund to be used when amounts in the holding fund are insufficient to meet the legislative appropriation for that fiscal year for either the Texas enterprise fund or the skills development fund, and it specifies the amounts and time frame of the funds transfer. The bill requires the Texas Workforce Commission, in awarding grants from the skills development fund, to consider giving priority to training incentives for small businesses, and it provides for concurrent grants from the skills development fund and the Texas enterprise fund.
The provisions of House Bill 2421 relating to the contribution rate of a new employer and the rate of the replenishment tax paid by an experienced employer under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act take effect January 1, 2006; all other provisions take effect June 18, 2005.