JKM C.S.H.B. 568 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT C.S.H.B. 568 By: Oliveira 4-8-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND The Texas Workforce Commission is the successor to the Texas Employment Commission. It is responsible for a variety of duties besides those formerly performed by the Texas Employment Commission. Several Texas Workforce Commission programs rely on donations from a variety of sources to make the most efficient use of federal matching funds. Despite the additional duties it is required by statute to perform, the Texas Workforce Commission currently has only limited statutory authority to accept donations. The Commission currently can only accept donations from tax-exempt organizations listed in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. PURPOSE H.B. 568 would expand the Commission's authority to accept donations by deleting certain restrictions and allowing the Commission to accept donations from any source, subject to certain guidelines. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. (a) Amends Section 301.021 of the Labor Code by removing the requirement that the Texas Workforce Commission accept donations only from tax exempt organizations listed in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. (b) Prohibits the commission from accepting a donation from a person who is a party to an administrative proceeding pending before the commission until the 30th day after the date the commission's final order is issued, or from a person who is a party to a suit in which the commission is also a party. (c) Prohibits the commission from accepting a donation from a for-profit entity that has a contract with the commission or has submitted a bid in response to a pending request for a proposal issued by the commission for services or products having a value of $50,000 or more. This subsection does not apply to a contract or bid that relates to child-care services. (d) A for profit entity may not enter into a contract with the commission or submit a bid in response to a request for proposal issued by the commission less than a year after making a donation to the commission unless the contract or bid relates only to providing child-care services. SECTION 2. Effective date. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE SECTION 1 in HB 568 allows the commission to accept donations from "a public or private entity" and strikes language that provided the commission with the ability to accept donations from nonprofit organizations only. CSHB 568 subdivides SECTION 1, numbering the first paragraph as Subsection (a) and changing the language so that the commission may accept donations that the commission determines furthers the lawful objectives of the commission. CSHB 568 adds Subsection (b) which prohibits the commission from accepting a donation from a person who is a party to an administrative proceeding pending before the commission until the 30th day after the date the commission's final order is issued, or from a person who is a party to a suit in which the commission is also a party. CSHB 568 adds Subsection (c) which prohibits the commission from accepting a donation from a for-profit entity that has a contract with the commission or has submitted a bid in response to a pending request for a proposal issued by the commission for services or products having a value of $50,000 or more. This subsection does not apply to a contract or bid that relates to child-care services. CSHB 568 adds Subsection (d) which prohibits a for profit entity from entering into a contract with the commission or submitting a bid in response to a request for proposal issued by the commission less than a year after making a donation to the commission unless the contract or bid relates only to providing child-care services. SECTION 2. Effective date. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.