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.