73R7854 CLG-D
By Cuellar of Webb, Hilderbran, et al. H.B. No. 779
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 779:
By Hilderbran C.S.H.B. No. 779
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to AFDC benefits for certain families.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code,
1-5 is amended by adding Sections 31.0125 and 31.014 to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 31.0125. COMMUNITY WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM. (a)
1-8 Subject to the availability of appropriations for client support
1-9 services, the department by rule shall develop and implement a
1-10 community work experience program in accordance with federal law as
1-11 a part of the job opportunities and basic skills (JOBS) training
1-12 program under Part F, Subchapter IV, Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1-13 Section 682).
1-14 (b) In adopting rules under this section, the department
1-15 shall:
1-16 (1) establish the criteria for determining which
1-17 recipients of financial assistance under this chapter who are
1-18 eligible to participate in the JOBS training program will be
1-19 required to participate in the community work experience program;
1-20 (2) ensure that participation in the community work
1-21 experience program will not result in the displacement of an
1-22 employee from an existing position or the elimination of a vacant
1-23 position;
1-24 (3) ensure that the community work experience program
2-1 will not impair an existing service contract or collective
2-2 bargaining agreement;
2-3 (4) ensure that an entity or agency that enters into
2-4 an agreement with the department under this section provides to a
2-5 participant, without paying the participant a salary, job training
2-6 and work experience in certain areas within the entity or agency;
2-7 (5) require that each entity or agency that enters
2-8 into a cooperative agreement with the department under this section
2-9 identify positions within the entity or agency that will enable a
2-10 participant to gain the skills and experience necessary to be able
2-11 to compete in the labor market for comparable positions; and
2-12 (6) amend the service delivery system of the JOBS
2-13 training program to permit a participant in the JOBS training
2-14 program who is unemployed after completing the JOBS readiness
2-15 activities outlined in the participant's employability plan,
2-16 including job search, to participate in the community work
2-17 experience program.
2-18 (c) To implement the community work experience program, the
2-19 department shall enter into written nonfinancial cooperative
2-20 agreements with entities that receive funds under a federal Head
2-21 Start program and with state agencies, including institutions of
2-22 higher education or other entities of state government. To be
2-23 eligible to enter into a contract under this section, the entity or
2-24 agency must employ at least 250 persons. The department and the
2-25 entity or agency may waive this requirement by mutual agreement.
2-26 (d) The department and an entity or agency that enters into
2-27 an agreement under this section must establish participation
3-1 requirements for the entity or agency under the community work
3-2 experience program. The requirements must be contained in the
3-3 agreement.
3-4 Sec. 31.014. TWO-PARENT FAMILIES. (a) The department shall
3-5 provide financial assistance, in accordance with department rules,
3-6 to a two-parent family if the primary wage earner parent is
3-7 registered in the job opportunities and basic skills (JOBS)
3-8 training program under Part F, Subchapter IV, Social Security Act
3-9 (42 U.S.C. Section 682), or is registered with the Texas
3-10 Employment Commission.
3-11 (b) A family is eligible for assistance under this section
3-12 without regard to:
3-13 (1) the number of hours worked per month by the
3-14 primary wage earner parent; or
3-15 (2) the work history of the primary wage earner
3-16 parent.
3-17 SECTION 2. If before implementing Sections 31.0125 and
3-18 31.014, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, the Texas
3-19 Department of Human Services determines that a waiver or
3-20 authorization from a federal agency is necessary for
3-21 implementation, the department shall request the waiver or
3-22 authorization and may delay implementing those provisions until the
3-23 waiver or authorization is granted.
3-24 SECTION 3. The changes in law made by Section 31.014, Human
3-25 Resources Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a two-parent
3-26 family that becomes eligible to receive financial assistance under
3-27 that section on or after the effective date of this Act.
4-1 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
4-2 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.