73R9575 MLR-F
By A. Smith of Harris H.B. No. 1609
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1609:
By Davis C.S.H.B. No. 1609
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation, organization, and duties of the Texas
1-3 Youth Corps and its advisory council.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the Youth
1-6 Corps Act.
1-7 SECTION 2. TEXAS YOUTH CORPS. The Texas Youth Corps is
1-8 created in the office of the comptroller of public accounts.
1-9 SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
1-10 (1) "Comptroller" means the comptroller of public
1-11 accounts.
1-12 (2) "Participant" means an individual enrolled in a
1-13 program that receives assistance under this Act.
1-14 (3) "Program" means a local community program or
1-15 activity carried out with the assistance provided under this Act.
1-16 (4) "Program agency" means a state agency designated
1-17 to assist a program.
1-18 (5) "Sponsoring organization" means an organization
1-19 that is eligible to receive assistance under this Act and that has
1-20 been selected to provide placement for a participant.
1-21 SECTION 4. PURPOSE. The purpose of the youth corps is to:
1-22 (1) expand community and leadership service
1-23 opportunities for Texas youth by building on the existing
2-1 organizational framework of state and local programs and agencies;
2-2 (2) encourage communities to develop youth
2-3 conservation corps to provide education, training, basic skills,
2-4 life skills, work, and community service opportunities for local
2-5 youth;
2-6 (3) enable Texas youths to make a sustained commitment
2-7 to community service by removing barriers to service;
2-8 (4) involve participants in activities that would not
2-9 otherwise be performed by employed workers; and
2-10 (5) encourage community and business support for local
2-11 youth corps.
2-12 SECTION 5. DESIGN COMMITTEE. (a) A temporary design
2-13 committee is established to determine:
2-14 (1) activities that are appropriate for a youth corps;
2-15 (2) the citizens of the community that could benefit
2-16 from a youth corps activity and that should be targeted by a
2-17 program; and
2-18 (3) the procedures necessary to implement a local
2-19 youth corps program.
2-20 (b) The committee is composed of 15 members appointed by the
2-21 comptroller to represent business, labor, education, youth, and
2-22 community and nonprofit organizations.
2-23 (c) The duties of the committee include:
2-24 (1) recommending a particular state agency that should
2-25 function as a youth corps program agency and determining the
3-1 technical assistance to be provided by that agency;
3-2 (2) developing model programs with suggested rules for
3-3 each program that include reporting requirements for the program
3-4 agency and sponsoring organizations;
3-5 (3) prescribing the eligibility criteria and
3-6 application procedures for a sponsoring organization and the
3-7 guidelines a sponsoring organization must follow in providing
3-8 training and education services to a participant;
3-9 (4) recommending grant awards and matching
3-10 requirements;
3-11 (5) establishing age and citizenship criteria for the
3-12 participants; and
3-13 (6) suggesting living allowances, stipends, and any
3-14 other benefits for the participants.
3-15 (d) The committee shall send interim reports to the
3-16 comptroller that describe the model programs and activities that
3-17 the committee has developed, intends to develop, or wants to
3-18 develop. The committee shall send a final report to the
3-19 comptroller when the committee determines that it has completed its
3-20 duties under this section. The committee expires on the date it
3-21 sends its final report to the comptroller.
3-22 SECTION 6. DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER. In addition to other
3-23 duties determined by the design committee in relation to specific
3-24 programs, the comptroller should:
3-25 (1) provide training, technical assistance, and grant
4-1 monitoring services to state and local entities receiving grants;
4-2 (2) help to generate additional service hours each
4-3 year to help meet human, educational, environmental, and public
4-4 safety needs, particularly those needs related to combating
4-5 poverty; and
4-6 (3) provide competitive grants for new and existing
4-7 programs within the state.
4-8 SECTION 7. TRANSITION. (a) If federal funding becomes
4-9 available for youth corps programs, the design committee shall
4-10 accelerate its efforts to meet federal guidelines, and the governor
4-11 shall designate an appropriate state agency to assume operation of
4-12 the youth corps.
4-13 (b) If the governor designates another state agency to
4-14 assume responsibility for the youth corps under this Act, the
4-15 comptroller shall promptly transfer the youth corps to the
4-16 appropriate agency and transfer all records, files, and unobligated
4-17 and unexpended funds appropriated to implement or administer the
4-18 youth corps.
4-19 SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September
4-20 1, 1993.
4-21 SECTION 9. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
4-22 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.