Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 2563 amends the Labor Code to require the Texas Workforce Commission to create a pilot program that establishes individual development accounts for certain low-income individuals employed by the public or private sector in eight counties. The commission is required to design the program to provide participants with an opportunity to accumulate assets and mobilize savings and is required to contract with a nonprofit organization to administer the accounts. Expenditures from a participant's account are limited to higher education, housing expenses, including financing a home, and self-employment and start-up business expenses, and the program must be evaluated by a college or university within two years of implementation. The commission is required to submit a report with recommendations for statewide implementation to the legislature by January 1, 2005, and the program's authorization expires September 1, 2005.