BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 1341 By: Stiles March 7, 1995 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND The mission of the Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse is to assist the employers and working people of Texas to balance the demands of work and family life. It provides employers with information about options for child care assistance and resources for technical assistance in implementing benefit programs. The Clearinghouse is assisted by a private sector advisory committee in these efforts. Many Texas companies do not have research and development departments or resources for long-range planning. The majority of Texas companies employ fewer than 25 people. These employers need assistance in their efforts to prepare and plan for changes in the workplace, including information regarding the cost benefits of supportive family policies which result in a more productive workforce. Partial funding for the Clearinghouse comes from a $2.00 surcharge on certified copies of birth certificates issued by the State Bureau of Vital Statistics. Fiscal, legal and other in-kind support is provided by the Texas Employment Commission. Research and dissemination activities are made possible by financial and in-kind contributions, and by contracts with state and federal agencies. In 1987, the Texas Legislature created the Child Care Resource Clearinghouse to develop expertise and provide technical assistance to state agencies and public and private employers regarding options for offering child day care as an employee benefit. The scope of this mission was expanded in 1991 when the Clearinghouse was renamed the Work and Family Policies Clearinghouse. This legislation mandated the Clearinghouse to provide information concerning technical assistance, dependent care, and other employment-related family issues to public and private employers, state agencies, policy makers and individuals. In 1993, the administration of the School Child Care Services Fund (SCCSF) was transferred from the Texas Department of Community Affairs to the Texas Employment Commission. The Clearinghouse was designated to administer the federally-funded Dependent Care Development Grant (DCDG). These grants assist the Clearinghouse in the development of child care resources. PURPOSE This bill provides additional funding for the Work and Family Policies Clearinghouse for a grant program for demonstration dependent care projects. The additional funding comes from a $2.00 surcharge on birth certificates issued at the local level. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the Committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is granted to the Work and Family Policies Clearinghouse in Section 4, by requiring the Clearinghouse to adopt rules governing the submission and approval of grant requests and the cancellation of grants. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 191.0045, Health and Safety Code, by amending Subsections (d) and (f) and adding Subsection (g) as follows: (d) Requires local registrars to charge the same fees as the bureau of vital statistics for a certified copy of a birth certificate. (f) Makes conforming language change. (g) Provides that a person who obtains more than one certified copy of a birth certificate under a single application may be charged the additional fee for only one of the copies. SECTION 2. Amends 191.022, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (f) as follows: (f) Requires a local registrar who collects a fee for a certified copy of a birth certificate to deduct 20 cents of the fee for administrative costs and remit the balance of $1.80 to the comptroller for deposit in the work and family policies fund. SECTION 3. Amends Section 118.015, Local Government Code by adding a Subsection (b) as follows: Section 118.015. Designates current language as subsection (a). (b) Requires a county clerk who collects a fee for a certified copy of a birth certificate to deduct 20 cents of the fee for administrative costs and remit the balance of $1.80 to the comptroller for deposit in the work and family policies fund. SECTION 4. Amends Chapter 81, Labor Code, by adding Section 81.0045 as follows: Section 81.0045 (a). Authorizes the clearinghouse to establish a grant program to provide funds to public or private persons to conduct demonstration dependent care projects. (b) Requires the clearinghouse to adopt rules governing the submission and approval of grant requests and cancellation of grants. (c) Requires a grant recipient to execute an interagency agreement or contract with the clearinghouse. The person receiving the grant must perform the services state in the approved grant, and the contract must contain provisions for program and fiscal monitoring. SECTION 5. Amends Section 81.006(a), Labor Code as follows: (a) Makes conforming languages changes. SECTION 6. Provides an effective date of September 1, 1995. SECTION 7. Emergency clause. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Deletes Subsection (g) which provided that a person who obtains more than one certified copy of a birth certificate under a single application may be charged the additional fee for only one of the copies. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION H.B. 1341 was considered by the committee in a public hearing on March 6, 1995. The committee considered an amendment to the bill. The amendment was adopted without objection. Testifying on the bill was Carol McDaniel, representing the Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse. No one testified against the bill. H.B. 1341 was reported favorably as amended, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 8 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, 1 absent.