Amend HB 1528, from page 5, line 25 through page 7, line 27,
by striking Sec. 481.155 and substituting the following:
      Sec. 481.155.  ]SGRANTS  .  (a)  The executive director may award
grants for projects that meet the requirements of this chapter.  It
is the intent of the legislature that, to the greatest extent
practicable, money from the smart jobs fund shall be spent in all
areas of the state.  The executive director shall not award a grant
or a combination of grants in any fiscal year to a single employer
in excess of $1,000,000 or at a rate greater than $1,500 per new or
existing job.  The executive director shall attempt to ensure that
at least 20 percent of the total dollar amount of grants awarded
under the program are awarded to minority employers.
      (b)  The program is job-driven.  A grant may not be awarded
unless each employer participating in the project certifies that:
            (1)  a job or job opening exists or will exist at the
end of the project for which the grant is sought; and
            (2)  the job or job opening will be filled by a
participant in the project.
      (c)  A grant may not be awarded for a project under this
section unless each employer participating in the project certifies
that the starting wage for a new job created through the project
will be equal to or greater than the prevailing wage for that
occupation in the local labor market area <greater than 66 2/3
percent of the state average weekly wage> and that the wage for a
job existing on the date that the project is scheduled to begin
will be increased by the greater of:
            (1)  three <10> percent for a small business or five
percent for a business that is not a small business over the wage
in effect on the day before the date on which the project is
scheduled to begin for that job; or
            (2)  100 percent of the prevailing wage for that
occupation in the local labor market area <75 percent of the state
average weekly wage>.
      (d)  An employer may apply for a grant under this chapter,
and request a modification of the requirements provided by
Subsection (c), if:
            (1)  the employer is required to reduce or eliminate
the employer's work force because of reductions in overall
employment within an industry;
            (2)  <or> a substantial change in the skills required
to continue the employer's business exists because of technological
changes; or
            (3)  other reasonable factors, as determined by<.  In
awarding a grant under this subsection,> the executive director,
exist <may modify the requirements of Subsection (c)>.
      (e)  Grants awarded under this section <subsection> for which
the executive director has modified the requirements of Subsection
(c) may not, in any fiscal year, exceed 10 percent of the total
dollar amount of grants awarded under the program in that year.
      (f) <(e)>  Unless modified by the executive director under
rules adopted by the policy board, a grant may not be awarded for a
project unless each employer participating in the project certifies
that it will continue to spend on nonmanagerial training an amount
from private sources equal to the average amount spent by the
employer on such training for the most recent two-year period.
      (g) <(f)>  A grant may not be awarded for a project if the
project will impair existing contracts for services or collective
bargaining agreements, except that a project inconsistent with the
terms of a collective bargaining agreement may be undertaken with
the written concurrence of the collective bargaining unit and the
employer or employers who are parties to the agreement.
      (h) <(g)>  During each state fiscal year the executive
director shall attempt to ensure that at least 50 percent of the
total dollar amount of grants awarded under this section is awarded
to small businesses, as defined by Section 481.101.
      (i) <(h)>  In awarding a grant under this section, the
executive director shall give priority to a project that is located
in an enterprise zone as defined by Section 2302.003.