JKM H.B. 425 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT H.B. 425 By: Raymond 4-2-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Working couples, single parents, and those caring for elderly family members, are finding it more difficult to balance their work and family responsibilities. To a great extent, increasing child-care and nursing home care costs and stagnant wages also have contributed to this situation. As Texas' single largest employer, state government can lead in the development of policies that address the family problems, which contribute to decreased productivity, lost work time, increased health risks, tardiness, absenteeism, and poor morale. Employers who take into account the needs of the family are likely to reap benefits, such as improved employee morale, job productivity and performance, while employees enjoy a greater and healthier balance between work and their personal life. PURPOSE To add a representative of the Child Care Development Board and two representatives of state agencies to the Work and Family Advisory Committee; create a work-family facilitor to help state agencies develop policies to assist employees meet work and family responsiblities; and mandate the Work and Family Policies Clearinghouse report on state agencies' progress in creating a flexible, family-friendly workplace. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does expressly grant rulemaking authority to the Texas Workforce Commission in Section 4 (c) by granting the Commission the authority to adopt rules providing for the assessment and collection of the fee authorized by Section 81.009, Labor Code. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 81.002(b), Labor Code, by requiring executive director of the Texas Workforce Commission to appoint two representives of state government agencies and one representive of the Child Care Development Board to the Work and Family Advisory Committee. SECTION 2. Amends Chapter 81, Labor Code, by adding Section 81.009, establishing a workfamily facilitator responsible for assisting state agencies in developing work policies that aid agency employees in meeting their responsibilities to their work and to their families. The facilitator shall report periodically to the Legislature on the progress made by state agencies on work and family issues. The work-family facilitor position and the cost of performing the facilitor's duties shall be funded by annually assessing each state agency, other than an institution of higher education, 75 cents for each full-time equivalent employee employed by that agency. Funds collected under this subsection are required to be deposited in the work and family policies fund and may be spent only as provided by this subsection. "Full-time equivalent employee" is defined as provided by Section 2052.102, Government Code, for the purposes of this section. SECTION 3. Amends Chapter 81, Labor Code, by adding Section 81.010, which requires the Work and Family Clearinghouse to report to the legislature not later than January 15, 1999, on the progress made by state agencies in creating a flexible, family-friendly workplace for state employees. This section expires January 1, 2000. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. The work-family facilitator shall be appointed not later than January 1, 1998 by the Work and Family Policies Clearinghouse. The Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules providing for the assessment and collection of the fee authorized in this Act by Section 81.009, Labor Code, not later than December 1, 1997. SECTION 5. Emergency clause.