Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By: Ellis, West S.B. No. 1493
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the provision of certain health and human services and
1-2 to assistance in becoming self-sufficient.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 ARTICLE 1. SELF SUFFICIENCY FUND
1-5 SECTION 1.01. Chapter 303, Labor Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Section 303.005 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 303.005. SELF-SUFFICIENCY FUND. (a) To achieve the
1-8 purposes of this chapter, a self-sufficiency fund is created to
1-9 develop training for recipients of public assistance.
1-10 (b) The self-sufficiency fund may be used by public
1-11 community and technical colleges and community based organizations
1-12 as start-up funds for the following job-training purposes:
1-13 (1) developing customized training programs for
1-14 businesses and trade unions; and
1-15 (2) sponsoring small and medium-sized business
1-16 networks and consortiums.
1-17 (c) Money from the self-sufficiency fund may not be used to
1-18 pay the training costs and other relate costs of an employer who
1-19 relocates the employer's worksite from one location in this state
1-20 to another in-state location.
1-21 (d) The executive director, or a person appointed by the
1-22 executive director who is knowledgeable in the administration of
1-23 grants, is responsible for the distribution of money from the
2-1 self-sufficiency fund.
2-2 (e) The executive director shall develop criteria to ensure
2-3 that employers and training resources work together to propose
2-4 training and employment for a specific number of clients.
2-5 (f) The funds may also be used for support services
2-6 necessary for recipients to participate in training activities.
2-7 (g) It is the intent of the legislature that, to the
2-8 greatest extent practicable, money from the self-sufficiency fund
2-9 shall be spent in all areas of this state.
2-10 ARTICLE 2. SUPPORT SERVICES FOR RECIPIENTS OF FINANCIAL
2-11 ASSISTANCE
2-12 SECTION 2.01. Section 31.010, Human Resources Code, is
2-13 amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (f) to
2-14 read as follows:
2-15 (c) Support services include:
2-16 (1) education, using public or private schools as
2-17 necessary;
2-18 (2) child care;
2-19 (3) transportation assistance;
2-20 (4) work skills and job readiness training;
2-21 (5) instruction in job search techniques; [and]
2-22 (6) job placement; and
2-23 (7) job retention assistance.
2-24 (f) In providing work skills and job readiness training, the
2-25 department shall:
3-1 (1) emphasize training for high-wage jobs;
3-2 (2) promote understanding of nontraditional work
3-3 opportunities for recipients; and
3-4 (3) offer micro enterprise development and
3-5 self-employment assistance in rural areas and other areas where
3-6 jobs are scarce.
3-7 ARTICLE 3. TAX ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN FAMILIES
3-8 SECTION 3.01. Subchapter G, Chapter 2308, Government Code,
3-9 is amended by adding Section 2308.314 to read as follows:
3-10 Sec. 2308.314. TAX ASSISTANCE. (a) A workforce development
3-11 center shall provide to individuals who participate in a workforce
3-12 development program information on the federal earned income tax
3-13 credit for working families. The center shall assist participants
3-14 in preparing and filing federal income tax forms to ensure that a
3-15 participant who is eligible to receive the tax credit obtains the
3-16 tax credit.
3-17 (b) A workforce development center shall work in conjunction
3-18 with the Internal Revenue Service to make the center a volunteer
3-19 income tax assistance site during the two months preceding the date
3-20 federal income taxes are due.
3-21 (c) An employer who hires a welfare recipient under a wage
3-22 supplementation program shall provide information on the federal
3-23 earned income tax credit to that employee and assist the employee
3-24 in preparing and filing federal income tax forms to ensure the
3-25 employee receives the tax credit if the employee is eligible to
4-1 receive the tax credit.
4-2 (d) In this section:
4-3 (1) "Welfare recipient" means a person who receives
4-4 financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, or
4-5 food stamps under the food stamp program administered under Chapter
4-6 33, Human Resources Code.
4-7 (2) "Work supplementation program" means a program
4-8 under which the state reserves all or part of the amounts that
4-9 would be payable as benefits to welfare recipients and uses those
4-10 amounts to provide and subsidize jobs for the recipients.
4-11 SECTION 3.02. Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is
4-12 amended by adding Section 301.067 to read as follow:
4-13 Sec. 301.067. TAX ASSISTANCE; INFORMATION ON EARNED INCOME
4-14 TAX CREDIT. (a) The commission shall work in conjunction with the
4-15 Internal Revenue Service to make certain offices of the commission
4-16 volunteer income tax assistance sites during the two months
4-17 preceding the date federal income taxes are due.
4-18 (b) In conjunction with the comptroller's office, the
4-19 commission shall use existing resources to distribute information
4-20 and educational materials on the federal earned income tax credit
4-21 provided by the comptroller under Section 403.024, Government Code,
4-22 as added by Chapter 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular
4-23 Session, 1995, to local workforce development boards and workforce
4-24 development centers for use in providing federal income tax
4-25 assistance to persons who participate in workforce development
5-1 programs.
5-2 ARTICLE 4. TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION OF
5-3 CHILD-CARE SERVICES
5-4 SECTION 4.01. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
5-5 amended by adding Section 302.003 to read as follows:
5-6 Sec. 302.003. CHILD CARE TRAINING CENTER PILOT PROGRAM.
5-7 (a) The commission shall establish a pilot program in which the
5-8 division shall certify day-care facilities licensed under Chapter
5-9 42, Human Resources Code, in a county having a population of more
5-10 than 2.8 million as training centers that offer training and
5-11 certification for recipients of public assistance in basic skills,
5-12 child care, child care vendor entrepreneurial training, and early
5-13 childhood education.
5-14 (b) The commission shall cooperate with the Department of
5-15 Protective and Regulatory Services in the adoption of rules under
5-16 this section. The commission may not adopt a rule under this
5-17 section that conflicts with a rule of the Department of Protective
5-18 and Regulatory Services.
5-19 (c) The commission shall award a contract to a child care
5-20 facility to act as a training center based on:
5-21 (1) the level of training of the facility's staff; and
5-22 (2) the history of the facility in delivering high
5-23 quality care.
5-24 (d) The child care subsidy for a person who participates in
5-25 training through a pilot program and who qualifies for a subsidy
6-1 for the person's child shall be paid directly to the facility. The
6-2 facility is not required to count such a person in the facility's
6-3 child-to-staff ratio.
6-4 (e) A person who is a recipient of financial assistance
6-5 under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, may qualify to participate
6-6 in training through a pilot program by applying to the commission
6-7 and:
6-8 (1) providing proof of possession of a high school
6-9 diploma or the equivalent;
6-10 (2) demonstrating possession of general skills and
6-11 competence, as determined by commission rule; and
6-12 (3) demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the
6-13 commission, a long-term commitment to the early childhood care
6-14 profession.
6-15 (f) Funding for a person who participates in training
6-16 through a pilot program shall be provided through a work
6-17 supplementation program for 12 months. The commission may provide
6-18 additional funding for the person to participate in training
6-19 through the pilot program for an additional 12 months.
6-20 (g) The commission may also provide funding for a person who
6-21 participates in training through a pilot program to:
6-22 (1) complete the person's Child Development Associate
6-23 national credential or other child care certification, as
6-24 determined by the commission;
6-25 (2) provide ongoing interactive training; and
7-1 (3) offer start-up grants and loans to establish the
7-2 person's own child care business.
7-3 (h) A facility that provides training through a pilot
7-4 program shall maintain a mentor relationship with each person who
7-5 participates in training through the program at the facility. A
7-6 person who participates in training at a facility may be required
7-7 to participate in additional training programs after the date the
7-8 person completes the pilot program.
7-9 (i) The child of a person who participates in training
7-10 through a pilot program is entitled to the same discounted rate for
7-11 child care services at the facility in which the person is
7-12 participating in training that the facility offers to the
7-13 facility's employees. The difference between the amount of the
7-14 rate charged by the facility and the value of the services provided
7-15 by the person at the facility shall be paid by the facility to the
7-16 commission. Funds received by the commission under this subsection
7-17 may be used by the commission to administer the pilot program under
7-18 this section.
7-19 (j) The commission shall adopt rules that establish
7-20 eligibility criteria for a facility to participate in a pilot
7-21 program and provide requirements for implementation of the pilot
7-22 program.
7-23 (k) The commission shall report not later than January 31,
7-24 1999, to the presiding officer of each house of the 76th
7-25 Legislature, Regular Session, regarding the results of the pilot
8-1 programs created under this section. The report must include
8-2 recommendations to the legislature regarding the development of a
8-3 statewide child care training program for recipients of public
8-4 assistance.
8-5 (l) In this section, "work supplement program" means a
8-6 program under which the state reserves all or part of the amounts
8-7 that would be payable as benefits to welfare recipients and uses
8-8 those amounts to provide and subsidize jobs for the recipients.
8-9 ARTICLE 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; EMERGENCY
8-10 SECTION 6.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
8-11 SECTION 6.02. The importance of this legislation and the
8-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.