By Raymond H.B. No. 2858
74R6817 PB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the operation of the smart jobs fund and the employment
1-3 training program created under that fund.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter J, Chapter 481,
1-6 Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER J. SMART JOBS FUND <PROGRAM>
1-8 SECTION 2. Section 481.151, Government Code, is amended to
1-9 read as follows:
1-10 Sec. 481.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-11 (1) "Business development" includes relocation,
1-12 expansion, turnover, diversification, or technological change.
1-13 (2) "Demand occupation" means an occupation in which,
1-14 as a result of business development, there are or will be positive
1-15 growth-to-replacement ratios within the next 12 to 24 months,
1-16 according to the best available sources of state and local labor
1-17 market information.
1-18 (3) "Emerging occupation" means an occupation that:
1-19 (A) arises through forces related to
1-20 technological changes in the workplace; and
1-21 (B) requires at least two months of customized
1-22 education or training before a person trained in another field can
1-23 be reasonably expected to perform the duties of the occupation.
1-24 (4) <(3)> "Employee" means an individual who performs
2-1 services for another under a contract of hire, whether express or
2-2 implied, or oral or written.
2-3 (5) <(4)> "Employer" means a person that employs one
2-4 or more employees.
2-5 (6) <(5)> "Executive director" means the executive
2-6 director of the department.
2-7 (7) <(6)> "Existing employer" means an employer that:
2-8 (A) has been liable to pay contributions under
2-9 Subtitle A, Title 4, Labor Code <the Texas Unemployment
2-10 Compensation Act (Article 5221b-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil
2-11 Statutes)> for more than one year;
2-12 (B) has employees; and
2-13 (C) is in compliance with the reporting and
2-14 payment requirements of that subtitle <Act>, as determined by the
2-15 Texas Employment Commission.
2-16 (8) <(7)> "Family wage job" means a job that offers:
2-17 (A) wages that start at a level at least equal
2-18 to 75 percent of <or greater than> the state average weekly wage;
2-19 (B) <benefits, such as vacation leave, sick
2-20 leave, and insurance coverage;>
2-21 <(C)> reasonable opportunities for continued
2-22 skill development and career path advancement; and
2-23 (C) <(D)> a substantial likelihood of long-term
2-24 job security.
2-25 (9) <(8)> "In-kind contribution" means a noncash
2-26 contribution of goods and services provided by an employer as all
2-27 or part of the employer's matching share of a grant or project.
3-1 (10) <(9)> "Job" means employment on a basis
3-2 customarily considered full-time for the applicable occupation and
3-3 industry.
3-4 (11) "Manufacturing occupation" means an occupation in
3-5 an industry that is involved in the manufacture of products using
3-6 mechanical power and machinery.
3-7 (12) <(10)> "Minority employer" means a business
3-8 entity at least 51 percent of which is owned by minority group
3-9 members or, in the case of a corporation, at least 51 percent of
3-10 the shares of which are owned by minority group members and that:
3-11 (A) is managed and, in daily operations, is
3-12 controlled by minority group members; and
3-13 (B) is a domestic business entity with a home or
3-14 branch office located in this state and is not a branch or
3-15 subsidiary of a foreign corporation or other foreign business
3-16 entity.
3-17 (13) <(11)> "Minority group members" include members
3-18 of groups eligible for designation as historically underutilized
3-19 businesses under Section 481.191 <:>
3-20 <(A) African-Americans;>
3-21 <(B) American Indians;>
3-22 <(C) Asian-Americans; and>
3-23 <(D) Mexican-Americans and other Americans of
3-24 Hispanic origin>.
3-25 (14) <(12)> "Program" means the smart jobs fund
3-26 <program> created under this subchapter.
3-27 (15) <(13)> "Project" means a specific employment
4-1 training project developed and implemented under this subchapter.
4-2 (16) <(14)> "Provider" means a person that provides
4-3 employment-related training. The term includes employers, employer
4-4 associations, labor organizations, community-based organizations,
4-5 training consultants, public and private schools, technical
4-6 institutes, junior or community colleges, senior colleges,
4-7 universities, and proprietary schools, as defined by Section 32.11,
4-8 Education Code.
4-9 (17) "Smart job" means a job that:
4-10 (A) may reasonably be considered to be in high
4-11 demand;
4-12 (B) is a family wage job; and
4-13 (C) requires, as a condition of employment,
4-14 high-level thinking, reasoning, and technical skills.
4-15 (18) <(15)> "State average weekly wage" means the
4-16 annual average of the average weekly wage of manufacturing
4-17 production workers in this state as of September 1 of each year, as
4-18 determined by the Texas Employment Commission under Section
4-19 207.002, Labor Code <3(b), Texas Unemployment Compensation Act
4-20 (Article 5221b-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)>, adjusted for
4-21 regional variances.
4-22 <(16) "Targeted industry" means an industry that
4-23 promotes high-skill, high-wage jobs using Texas-available material
4-24 and human resources, as determined by the department.>
4-25 (19) <(17)> "Trainee" means a participant in a project
4-26 funded under this subchapter.
4-27 (20) <(18)> "Wages" means all forms of compensation or
5-1 remuneration<, excluding benefits,> payable for a specific period
5-2 to an employee for personal services rendered by that employee.
5-3 The term includes the reasonable value of any benefits associated
5-4 with the employment.
5-5 SECTION 3. Sections 481.152(a) and (b), Government Code, are
5-6 amended to read as follows:
5-7 (a) The smart jobs fund <program> is created in the
5-8 department as a business <work force development> incentive
5-9 <program> to enhance employment opportunities and to meet the needs
5-10 of existing and new industries in this state.
5-11 (b) The program shall give priority for funding to projects
5-12 that offer <the creation and retention of> family wage jobs <and
5-13 focus on employers in industries that promote high-skill, high-wage
5-14 jobs in high-technology areas and on demand occupations that
5-15 provide those jobs>. At least 60 percent of the money spent under
5-16 the program shall be used for projects that assist existing
5-17 employers.
5-18 SECTION 4. Section 481.155, Government Code, is amended to
5-19 read as follows:
5-20 Sec. 481.155. GRANTS. (a) The executive director may award
5-21 grants for projects that meet the requirements of this chapter.
5-22 The executive director shall attempt to ensure that at least 20
5-23 percent of the total dollar amount of grants awarded under the
5-24 program are awarded to minority employers. The executive director
5-25 shall encourage consortiums of small businesses and minority
5-26 businesses.
5-27 (b) The program is job-driven. A grant may not be awarded
6-1 unless each employer participating in the project certifies that:
6-2 (1) a job or job opening exists or will exist at the
6-3 end of the project for which the grant is sought; and
6-4 (2) the job or job opening will be filled by a
6-5 participant in the project.
6-6 (c) A grant may not be awarded for a project under this
6-7 section unless each employer participating in the project certifies
6-8 that the <starting> wage for a new job created through the project
6-9 will be greater than 75 <66 2/3> percent of the state average
6-10 weekly wage by the end of the project and that the wage for a job
6-11 existing on the date that the project is scheduled to begin and
6-12 that, on that date, pays a wage at or greater than 75 percent of
6-13 the state average weekly wage will be increased to five <the
6-14 greater of:>
6-15 <(1) 10> percent over the wage in effect on the day
6-16 before the date on which the project is scheduled to begin for that
6-17 job<; or>
6-18 <(2) 75 percent of the state average weekly wage>.
6-19 (d) An employer may apply for a grant under this chapter and
6-20 may request a modification of a requirement imposed under
6-21 Subsection (c) if:
6-22 (1) the employer is required to reduce or eliminate
6-23 the employer's work force because of reductions in overall
6-24 employment within an industry;
6-25 (2) there is <or> a substantial change in the skills
6-26 required to continue the employer's business because of
6-27 technological changes; or
7-1 (3) other factors occur that the executive director
7-2 determines reasonable to warrant a modification.
7-3 (e) In awarding a grant under Subsection (d) <this
7-4 subsection>, the executive director may modify the requirements of
7-5 Subsection (c). Grants awarded under this subsection for which the
7-6 executive director has modified the requirements of Subsection (c)
7-7 may not, in any fiscal year, exceed five <10> percent of the total
7-8 dollar amount of grants awarded under the program in that year.
7-9 (f) <(e)> Unless modified by the executive director under
7-10 rules adopted by the policy board, a grant may not be awarded for a
7-11 project unless each employer participating in the project certifies
7-12 that it will continue to spend on nonmanagerial training an amount
7-13 from private sources equal to the average amount spent by that
7-14 employer on such training for the most recent two-year period.
7-15 (g) <(f)> A grant may not be awarded for a project if the
7-16 project will impair existing contracts for services or collective
7-17 bargaining agreements, except that a project inconsistent with the
7-18 terms of a collective bargaining agreement may be undertaken with
7-19 the written concurrence of the collective bargaining unit and the
7-20 employer or employers who are parties to the agreement.
7-21 (h) <(g)> During each state fiscal year the executive
7-22 director shall attempt to ensure that at least 50 percent of the
7-23 total dollar amount of grants awarded under this section is awarded
7-24 to small businesses, as defined by Section 481.101.
7-25 SECTION 5. Sections 481.156(a) and (e), Government Code, are
7-26 amended to read as follows:
7-27 (a) The following may apply for a grant under this
8-1 subchapter:
8-2 (1) one or more employers to secure training for
8-3 demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing
8-4 occupations in a particular industry;
8-5 (2) one or more employers acting in partnership with
8-6 an employer organization, labor organization, or community-based
8-7 organization to secure training for demand occupations, emerging
8-8 occupations, or manufacturing occupations in a particular industry;
8-9 or
8-10 (3) one or more employers acting in partnership with a
8-11 consortium composed of one or more providers to secure training for
8-12 demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing
8-13 occupations in a particular industry.
8-14 (e) The executive director shall act on a completed
8-15 application not later than the 30th business day after the date on
8-16 which the application is filed with the department.
8-17 SECTION 6. Section 481.157(b), Government Code, is amended
8-18 to read as follows:
8-19 (b) The policy board may adopt rules modifying the
8-20 requirements of Subsection (a) for employers with fewer than 100
8-21 <50> employees and may also adopt rules modifying the requirements
8-22 of Subsection (a) for projects that provide significant economic
8-23 benefits to an entire region of the state.
8-24 SECTION 7. Section 481.159(b), Government Code, is amended
8-25 to read as follows:
8-26 (b) Reimbursable costs in the contract may include only
8-27 those expenses related to direct training in job-related basic
9-1 skills, including literacy skills, job-related vocational skills,
9-2 and administrative costs. Total administrative costs for any
9-3 particular project may not exceed 10 percent of the project's
9-4 direct training-related costs <expenditures>.
9-5 SECTION 8. Section 481.160(b), Government Code, is amended
9-6 to read as follows:
9-7 (b) The annual report must include for that fiscal year:
9-8 (1) the number of employers receiving grants under the
9-9 program;
9-10 (2) the total amount of grants awarded;
9-11 (3) <the value, expressed in dollars and as a
9-12 percentage of total training expenditures, of matching
9-13 contributions made by employers;>
9-14 <(4)> the number of small businesses, as defined by
9-15 Section 481.101(3), that receive grants under the program and the
9-16 total amount of the grants awarded to those businesses;
9-17 (4) <(5)> the number of businesses located in
9-18 enterprise zones, as that term is defined by Chapter 2303 <the
9-19 Texas Enterprise Zone Act (Article 5190.7, Vernon's Texas Civil
9-20 Statutes)>, that receive grants under the program and the total
9-21 amount of the grants awarded to those businesses;
9-22 (5) <(6)> the geographical distribution of employers
9-23 receiving grants under the program;
9-24 (6) <(7)> the total number of jobs created, enhanced,
9-25 or retained under the program, reported by region of the state and
9-26 by industry <occupation>;
9-27 (7) <(8)> the wage levels of trainees entering or
10-1 returning to the work force, broken down by current employees
10-2 undergoing retraining and new hires, at three months, one year, and
10-3 three years after the conclusion of their training;
10-4 (8) <(9)> the number and percentage of participating
10-5 employers that provide workers' compensation insurance coverage and
10-6 the number and percentage of employees covered;
10-7 (9) <(10)> the number and percentage of participating
10-8 employers that offer health care insurance coverage and the number
10-9 and percentage of employees covered;
10-10 (10) <(11)> the number and percentage of women
10-11 employers and minority employers receiving grants under the program
10-12 and the total amount of the grants awarded, broken out by group;
10-13 and
10-14 (11) <(12)> the number and percentage of women,
10-15 minority group members, and disabled individuals participating as
10-16 trainees in training projects, broken out by group<; and>
10-17 <(13) the number and percentage of women private
10-18 providers and private providers who are minority group members
10-19 utilized by employers in training projects, broken out by group>.
10-20 SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
10-21 applies only to a grant awarded under the smart jobs fund on or
10-22 after that date. A grant awarded before that date is governed by
10-23 the law in effect on the date that the grant was awarded, and the
10-24 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
10-25 SECTION 10. The importance of this legislation and the
10-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
11-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
11-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.