By: Ellis, Zaffirini, West S.B. No. 1112 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to development of a statewide guide on child care. 1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-3 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Government Code, is 1-4 amended by adding Section 403.026 to read as follows: 1-5 Sec. 403.026. CHILD-CARE GUIDE; INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP. 1-6 (a) The comptroller shall develop and periodically update a 1-7 statewide guide for child care designed to assist child-care 1-8 consumers in making informed choices regarding available child-care 1-9 services and to provide useful information regarding the child-care 1-10 industry to child-care service providers. The guide must: 1-11 (1) contain a directory of accredited service 1-12 providers of child care; 1-13 (2) contain comprehensive and current information on: 1-14 (A) service providers, including staff-child 1-15 ratios, group sizes, level of training of staff and management, 1-16 hours of availability, price information, and other relevant 1-17 information; 1-18 (B) early childhood development and factors to 1-19 consider in making informed child-care choices; 1-20 (C) child care for children with disabilities; 1-21 (D) training opportunities in the child-care 1-22 profession; 1-23 (E) best practices in the child-care industry; 2-1 (F) child-care financing options; 2-2 (G) technical assistance for child-care service 2-3 providers; and 2-4 (H) other relevant topics as determined by the 2-5 comptroller and the interagency work group created under Subsection 2-6 (b); and 2-7 (3) enable a child-care consumer to identify and 2-8 assess each option available for meeting a child-care consumer's 2-9 individual needs. 2-10 (b) An interagency work group is created to assist the 2-11 comptroller in developing and updating the guide. The work group 2-12 is composed of representatives of: 2-13 (1) the comptroller's office, appointed by the 2-14 comptroller; 2-15 (2) the Texas Workforce Commission, appointed by the 2-16 executive director of that agency; 2-17 (3) the Texas Department of Human Services, appointed 2-18 by the commissioner of human services; 2-19 (4) the Department of Protective and Regulatory 2-20 Services, appointed by the executive director of that agency; 2-21 (5) businesses and business organizations, appointed 2-22 by the comptroller; 2-23 (6) resource and referral agencies, appointed by the 2-24 comptroller; 2-25 (7) nonprofit organizations, appointed by the 3-1 comptroller; and 3-2 (8) child-care consumers, appointed by the 3-3 comptroller. 3-4 (c) A member of the work group serves at the will of the 3-5 appointing agency. 3-6 (d) The comptroller shall appoint a member of the work group 3-7 to serve as presiding officer, and members of the work group shall 3-8 elect any other necessary officers. 3-9 (e) The work group shall meet at the call of the presiding 3-10 officer. 3-11 (f) The appointing entity is responsible for the expenses of 3-12 a member's service on the work group. A member of the work group 3-13 receives no additional compensation for serving on the work group. 3-14 (g) The work group is not subject to Article 6252-33, 3-15 Revised Statutes. 3-16 (h) The entities listed in Subsection (b) shall take all 3-17 action necessary to assist the comptroller in developing and 3-18 updating the guide, including providing staff with expertise in 3-19 information and referral services and other necessary resources, 3-20 but may not diminish services required to be provided by other law. 3-21 (i) The comptroller shall make the guide available to the 3-22 public in electronic format and through the Internet. 3-23 SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 1998, the comptroller 3-24 of public accounts shall complete development of the child-care 3-25 guide required by Section 403.026, Government Code, as added by 4-1 this Act, and make the guide available in the manner required by 4-2 that section. 4-3 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 4-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 4-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 4-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 4-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 4-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 4-9 passage, and it is so enacted.