SRC-CDH S.B. 1112 75(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1112
By: Ellis
Health & Human Services
3-20-97
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, a growing number of Texas children have both parents or their
only parent in the workforce.  Parents seeking reliable, safe, and
convenient child care often find it difficult to locate useful information
to guide their decisions, and many parents rely on simple word-of-mouth
recommendations or the availability of an opening.  Presently, Texas has
no strategy to deliver comprehensive child-care consumer information to
parents.  In addition, the federal Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which requires states to move 50
percent of welfare recipients to work by 2002 and will demand greater
statewide child care capacity, gives this issue a sense of urgency.  S.B.
1112 creates such a guide to assist child-care consumers in making
informed choices regarding child-care services by providing a directory of
accredited service providers complete with comprehensive information about
the nature and quality of the services available, and current information
about early childhood development and factors for consideration in
choosing child care.  In addition, this legislation creates an interagency
work group to assist the comptroller in developing and updating the guide. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 1112 establishes the creation of a statewide consumer
guide on child care.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 403B, Government Code, by adding Section
403.026, as follows: 

Sec. 403.026.  CHILD-CARE CONSUMER GUIDE; INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP. Requires
the comptroller to develop and periodically update a statewide consumer
guide for child care designed to assist child-care consumers in making
informed choices regarding available child-care services.  Requires the
guide to contain a directory of accredited service providers of child
care, information on service providers, and information about early
childhood development and considerations in making child-care choices.
Requires the guide to enable a child-care consumer to assess available
child-care options.  Creates an interagency work group to assist the
comptroller in developing and updating the guide.  Sets forth the
composition of the work group, the method for appointing and electing
officers, the compensation of members, and meeting times.  Provides that a
member of the work group serves at the will of the appointing agency, and
establishes that the work group is not subject to Article 6252-33,
V.T.C.S.  Requires the comptroller to make the guide available to the
public in print, in electronic format, and through the Internet. 

SECTION 2. Requires the comptroller to complete development of the guide
not later than January 1, 1998, and to make the guide available in the
manner required. 

SECTION 3. Emergency clause.
  Effective date:  upon passage.