Amend Committee Amendment No. 1 to HB 1528 to read as
follows:
      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.  GRANTS.  (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 may 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 10 percent of the
annual wages of the new or existing job being created or retained
with the grant only if:
            (1)  the employer locates or expands in an enterprise
zone;
            (2)  the employer locates or expands in an adversely
affected defense-dependent community;
            (3)  the employer locates or expands in an area having
an unemployment rate 1 1/2 times greater than the statewide average
at the time of the application;
            (4)  the employer locates or expands in a county with a
population of less than 75,000;
            (5)  at least 25 percent of the employees hired or
retained by the employer are economically disadvantaged individuals
as defined by Sec. 2302.402(c), Government Code; or
            (6)  the employer is a small business or a
micro-business.
      (b)  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.
      (c) <(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 or the project for which the grant is sought; and
            (2)  the job or job opening will be filled by a
participant in the project.
      (d) <(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 are <75 percent of the state
average weekly wage>.
      (e) <(d)>  An employer may apply for a grant under this
chapter, and request a modification of the requirements provided by
Subsection (d), 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)>.
      (f)  Grants awarded under this section <subsection> for which
the executive director has modified the requirements of Subsection
(d) <(c)> may not, in any fiscal year, exceed 10 percent of the
total dollar amount of grants awarded under the program in that
year.
      (g) <(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.
      (h) <(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.
      (i) <(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.
      (j) <(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.