Amend CSSB 1490 by adding the following appropriately
numbered section and renumbering existing sections appropriately:
      SECTION _____. Section 44.061, Human Resources Code, is
amended  to read as follows:
      Sec. 44.061.  STATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a)  The State
Advisory Committee on Child-Care Programs is appointed by the Texas
Workforce Commission <Board of Human Services> on the
recommendation of the executive director of the Texas Workforce
Commission <Commissioner of Human  Services>.
      (b)  The committee shall consist of 20 members, not including
ex officio members, who serve two-year terms.
      (c)  The Texas Workforce Commission <Board of Human Services>
shall appoint the advisory committee to provide for balanced
representation of:
            (1)  parents, guardians, or custodians of children who
use child-care programs;
            (2)  child-care advocacy groups;
            (3)  operators and providers of child-care programs and
services representing rural and urban communities;
            (4)  for profit and nonprofit providers of child-care
services representing rural and urban communities;
            (5)  experts in early childhood development and
education;
            (6)  experts in child health and nutrition;
            (7)  other child-care professionals;
            (8)  the general public; and
            (9)  ex officio representatives from each state agency
that has an interest or role in state child-care programs.
      (d)  The Texas Workforce Commission <Department of Human
Services> shall provide to the committee staff support and other
support necessary to operate the committee.
      (e)  A member of the committee is not entitled to
compensation but is entitled to reimbursement of the travel
expenses incurred by the member while conducting the business of
the board, as provided by the General Appropriations Act <Section
22.009 applies to the committee>.
      (f)  The committee shall advise and assist <the Texas
Department of Human Services and> the Texas Workforce Commission in
developing coordinated state policies for the use of federal and
state funds in child-care programs, including policies relating to
the:
            (1)  review of any state plan required for the use of
federal or state funds;
            (2)  development of a coordinated and comprehensive
training program for child-care providers;
            (3)  establishment of guidelines providing technical
assistance to child-care providers, including loans, grants, or
training;
            (4)  development of a quality improvement program for
federal and state funded child-care services;
            (5)  review of public access to current child-care
services, with special emphasis placed on special needs populations
and localities of the state with limited child-care programs;
            (6)  development of consumer education programs related
to the access and selection of child-care services;
            (7)  review of appropriations to child-care programs;
            (8)  review of expenditures of child-care programs; and
            (9)  review of state efforts to maximize access to
federal child-care funding.
      (g)  The committee shall review child-care policies and
programs for compliance with applicable guidelines and shall advise
the Texas Workforce Commission <Board of Human Services, the
commission, and the Texas Department of Human Services> on the
results of the review.
      (h)  The Texas Workforce Commission <Department of Human
Services>, with assistance from the committee, shall hold biennial
public hearings on state and federal child-care programs to elicit
public response and recommendations regarding the quality,
accessibility, and affordability of child-care services.  The
hearings must be held in at least three separate geographical
regions of the state and may be held in conjunction with other
public hearings on child-care held by the Texas Workforce
Commission <Department of Human Services>.
      (i)  The committee shall annually report its findings and
recommendations to the Texas Workforce Commission <Board of Human
Services>.
      (j)  The Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules to
implement this section.