BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1180 By: Sylvester Turner 04-18-95 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Existing legislation provides employment services through workforce development centers throughout the state for students, workers, and employers. Employment services for persons released from the state prison system are primarily conducted by Project Rio, a state Employment Commission program. The latter has established working agreements with the local workforce developmental boards, but the law provides no official basis for cooperation. This bill provides an official means for Project Rio to establish working relationships with various state agencies and programs to facilitate its work. PURPOSE To provide for increased cooperation between various programs and agencies in support of employment services to former inmates. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly grants additional rulemaking authority in SECTION 4, Section 497.094, Government Code, to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 5.01, Workforce and Economic Competitiveness Act, Article 5190.7a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, by adding "persons formerly sentenced to the institutional division or the state jail division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice" to the list of people that a local workforce development board is required to establish workforce development centers. Also adds a new subsection (7) which allows the workforce development centers to be used to provide job training and employment assistance to ex-offenders in cooperation with Project RIO. SECTION 2. Amends Chapter 217, Labor Code, by adding Section 217.007 as follows: Sec. 217.007. PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON STATE SERVICES FOR EX-OFFENDERS AND EMPLOYERS. (a) Requires the Texas Employment Commission through Project RIO to provide to persons formerly sentenced to the institutional division or state jail division, information on job training and employment referral services; information on substance abuse treatment services; information on housing services; information on services for veterans; information on tax refund voucher programs. Requires TEC through Project Rio to provide to the employers and potential employers of former incarcerated individuals, information on the enterprise zone program and smart jobs fund program; and information on services listed in Section 4.05(a), Workforce and Economic Competitiveness Act. (b) Requires the Commission to adopt memoranda of understanding with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Texas Veterans Commission, Texas Department of Human Services, Texas Department of Commerce and the Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness to provide the information in Subsection (a) to ex-offenders and employers of ex-offenders. (c) Requires the Texas Employment Commission to file an annual report with the Governor's Office describing the number of ex-offenders in the preceding year receiving services under each memorandum of understanding. SECTION 3. Amends Section 481.158, Government Code, to include residents formerly sentenced to the institutional division or the state jail division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to be eligible for job training funds under the Smart Jobs Program. SECTION 4. Amends Section 497.094, Government Code, by adding Subsection (b) which requires the Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, by rule, to adopt a memorandum of understanding to establish the respective responsibility of the entities to provide through local workforce development boards information on job training, employment assistance and services available to ex-offenders and employers of ex-offenders. Also requires the department to coordinate the development of the memorandum of understanding. SECTION 5. Amends Section 13 (a) and (c), Article 42.131, Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows: (a) Allows a community supervision and corrections department, with the assistance of the Texas Employment Commission, the Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness, local workforce development boards, and other appropriate public and private entities, to establish a developmental program for a defendant under the supervision of the department. (c) Requires the Texas Department of Commerce to provide information to CSCD's, Texas Employment Commission, Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness, local workforce development boards, and other appropriate entities for obtaining financial assistance through Chapter 301, Labor Code, the Job-Training Partnership Act. SECTION 6. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The original bill had language that restricted the application of the bill to "persons formerly confined in the institutional division." The substitute changes this language to "persons formerly sentenced to the institutional division" throughout the bill. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION H.B. 1180 was considered by the Committee on Corrections in a public hearing on April 18, 1995. The Chair recognized Representative Sylvester Turner to explain the bill. The committee considered a complete substitute for the bill. The substitute was adopted without objection. The bill was reported favorably, as substituted, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 5 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, and 4 absent.