By: Sibley S.R. No. 992
SENATE RESOLUTION
1-1 BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, 75th
1-2 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, That Senate Rule 12.03 be
1-3 suspended in part as provided by Senate Rule 12.08 to enable the
1-4 conference committee appointed to resolve the differences on Senate
1-5 Bill No. 932 to consider and take action on the following matter:
1-6 Senate Rule 12.03(4) is suspended to permit the committee to
1-7 add new SECTIONS 35, 36, and 38 through 40 to the bill to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 SECTION 35. Section 481.151, Government Code, is amended to
1-10 read as follows:
1-11 Sec. 481.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-12 (1) "Business development" includes relocation,
1-13 expansion, turnover, diversification, or technological change.
1-14 (2) "Demand occupation" means an occupation in which,
1-15 as a result of business development, there are or will be positive
1-16 growth-to-replacement ratios within the next 12 to 24 months,
1-17 according to the best available sources of state and local labor
1-18 market information.
1-19 (3) "Emerging occupation" means an occupation that
1-20 arises from forces related to technological changes in the
1-21 workplace and the work of which cannot be performed by workers from
1-22 other occupations without at least two months of customized
1-23 education or training.
2-1 (4) "Employee" means an individual who performs
2-2 services for another under a contract of hire, whether express or
2-3 implied, or oral or written.
2-4 (5) [(4)] "Employer" means a person that employs one
2-5 or more employees.
2-6 (6) [(5)] "Executive director" means the executive
2-7 director of the department.
2-8 (7) [(6)] "Existing employer" means an employer that:
2-9 (A) has been liable to pay contributions under
2-10 Subtitle A, Title 4, Labor Code ([the] Texas Unemployment
2-11 Compensation Act) [(Article 5221b-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil
2-12 Statutes)] for more than one year;
2-13 (B) has employees; and
2-14 (C) is in compliance with the reporting and
2-15 payment requirements of that Act, as determined by the Texas
2-16 Workforce [Employment] Commission.
2-17 (8) [(7)] "Family wage job" means a job that offers:
2-18 (A) wages equal to or greater than the state
2-19 average weekly wage;
2-20 (B) benefits, such as vacation leave, sick
2-21 leave, and insurance coverage;
2-22 (C) reasonable opportunities for continued skill
2-23 development and career path advancement; and
2-24 (D) a substantial likelihood of long-term job
2-25 security.
3-1 (9) [(8)] "In-kind contribution" means a noncash
3-2 contribution of goods and services provided by an employer as all
3-3 or part of the employer's matching share of a grant or project.
3-4 (10) [(9)] "Job" means employment on a basis
3-5 customarily considered full-time for the applicable occupation and
3-6 industry.
3-7 (11) "Manufacturing occupation" means an occupation
3-8 that is involved in the mechanical or chemical transformation of
3-9 materials or substances into new products.
3-10 (12) "Micro-business" means an eligible business with
3-11 not more than 20 employees.
3-12 (13) [(10)] "Minority employer" means a business
3-13 entity at least 51 percent of which is owned by minority group
3-14 members or, in the case of a corporation, at least 51 percent of
3-15 the shares of which are owned by minority group members and that:
3-16 (A) is managed and, in daily operations, is
3-17 controlled by minority group members; and
3-18 (B) is a domestic business entity with a home or
3-19 branch office located in this state and is not a branch or
3-20 subsidiary of a foreign corporation or other foreign business
3-21 entity.
3-22 (14) [(11)] "Minority group members" include:
3-23 (A) African-Americans;
3-24 (B) American Indians;
3-25 (C) Asian-Americans; [and]
4-1 (D) Mexican-Americans and other Americans of
4-2 Hispanic origin; and
4-3 (E) women.
4-4 (15) [(12)] "Program" means the smart jobs fund
4-5 program created under this subchapter.
4-6 (16) [(13)] "Project" means a specific employment
4-7 training project developed and implemented under this subchapter.
4-8 (17) [(14)] "Provider" means a person that provides
4-9 employment-related training. The term includes employers, employer
4-10 associations, labor organizations, community-based organizations,
4-11 training consultants, public and private schools, technical
4-12 institutes, junior or community colleges, senior colleges,
4-13 universities, and proprietary schools, as defined by Section
4-14 132.001, Education Code.
4-15 (18) "Small business" has the meaning assigned that
4-16 term by Section 481.101.
4-17 (19) [(15)] "State average weekly wage" means the
4-18 annual average of the average weekly wage of manufacturing
4-19 production workers in this state as of September 1 of each year, as
4-20 determined by the Texas Workforce [Employment] Commission [under
4-21 Section 3(b), Texas Unemployment Compensation Act (Article 5221b-1,
4-22 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)], adjusted for regional variances.
4-23 (20) [(16)] "Targeted industry" means an industry that
4-24 promotes high-skill, high-wage jobs using Texas-available material
4-25 and human resources, as determined by the department.
5-1 (21) [(17)] "Trainee" means a participant in a project
5-2 funded under this subchapter.
5-3 (22) [(18)] "Wages" means all forms of compensation or
5-4 remuneration, excluding benefits, payable for a specific period to
5-5 an employee for personal services rendered by that employee.
5-6 SECTION 36. Section 481.154, Government Code, is amended to
5-7 read as follows:
5-8 Sec. 481.154. FUNDING. (a) The smart jobs fund is
5-9 established as a special trust fund in the custody of the state
5-10 treasurer separate and apart from all public money or funds of this
5-11 state. The fund is composed of:
5-12 (1) money transferred into the fund under Section
5-13 204.123, Labor Code [9e, Texas Unemployment Compensation Act
5-14 (Article 5221b-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)];
5-15 (2) gifts, grants, and other donations received by the
5-16 department for the fund; and
5-17 (3) any amounts appropriated by the legislature for
5-18 the program.
5-19 (b) The program is funded through the smart jobs fund.
5-20 (c) Money in the smart jobs fund may be used for program
5-21 administration, marketing expenses, and evaluation of the program.
5-22 These costs of the department in any fiscal year may not exceed
5-23 five percent of the total amount appropriated for the program for
5-24 [funds deposited in the smart jobs fund in] that year.
5-25 (d) If, during any three consecutive months, the balance in
6-1 the smart jobs fund exceeds 0.15 percent of the total taxable wages
6-2 for the four calendar quarters ending the preceding June 30, as
6-3 computed under Section 204.062(c), Labor Code [7(c)(8), Texas
6-4 Unemployment Compensation Act (Article 5221b-5, Vernon's Texas
6-5 Civil Statutes)], the executive director shall immediately transfer
6-6 the excess to the Unemployment Compensation Fund created under
6-7 Section 203.021, Labor Code [9(a), Texas Unemployment Compensation
6-8 Act (Article 5221b-7, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
6-9 SECTION 38. Subsection (a), Section 481.156, Government
6-10 Code, is amended to read as follows:
6-11 (a) The following may apply for a grant under this
6-12 subchapter:
6-13 (1) one or more employers to secure training for
6-14 demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing
6-15 occupations [in a particular industry];
6-16 (2) one or more employers acting in partnership with
6-17 an employer organization, labor organization, or community-based
6-18 organization to secure training for demand occupations, emerging
6-19 occupations, or manufacturing occupations [in a particular
6-20 industry]; or
6-21 (3) one or more employers acting in partnership with a
6-22 consortium composed of [one or] more than one provider [providers]
6-23 to secure training for demand occupations, emerging occupations, or
6-24 manufacturing occupations [in a particular industry].
6-25 SECTION 39. Subsection (c), Section 481.159, Government
7-1 Code, is amended to read as follows:
7-2 (c) Each contract must provide a schedule for payment of
7-3 smart jobs fund money. Twenty-five percent of allowable
7-4 expenditures [the grant award] shall be withheld by the department
7-5 for 90 days after the date of completion of the contract
7-6 [project]. If at least 85 percent [all] of the trainees in the
7-7 project have been retained in employment for that 90-day period and
7-8 have successfully achieved the skills and competencies, wage
7-9 requirements, and other contractual obligations, the amount of
7-10 allowable expenditures [the grant award] withheld shall be remitted
7-11 to the employer. [For each trainee who is not retained in
7-12 employment for that 90-day period, the amount withheld shall be
7-13 reduced by the amount of the training costs for that trainee that
7-14 is derived from grant money, and any balance shall be remitted to
7-15 the employer.] If there is a negative balance, the employer is
7-16 liable for the amount of the negative balance and shall remit that
7-17 amount to the department not later than the 30th day after the date
7-18 on which the employer is notified of the negative balance by the
7-19 department.
7-20 SECTION 40. Subsection (b), Section 481.160, Government
7-21 Code, is amended to read as follows:
7-22 (b) The annual report must include for that fiscal year:
7-23 (1) the number of employers receiving grants under the
7-24 program;
7-25 (2) the total amount of grants awarded;
8-1 (3) the value, expressed in dollars and as a
8-2 percentage of total training expenditures, of matching
8-3 contributions made by employers;
8-4 (4) the number of small businesses, as defined by
8-5 Section 481.101(3), that receive grants under the program and the
8-6 total amount of the grants awarded to those businesses;
8-7 (5) the number of businesses located in enterprise
8-8 zones, as that term is defined by Chapter 2303, that receive grants
8-9 under the program and the total amount of the grants awarded to
8-10 those businesses;
8-11 (6) the geographical distribution of employers
8-12 receiving grants under the program;
8-13 (7) the total number of jobs created, enhanced, or
8-14 retained under the program, reported by region of the state and by
8-15 occupation;
8-16 (8) the wage levels of trainees entering or returning
8-17 to the work force, broken down by current employees undergoing
8-18 retraining and new hires, at three months and[,] one year[, and
8-19 three years] after the conclusion of their training;
8-20 (9) the number and percentage of participating
8-21 employers that provide workers' compensation insurance coverage and
8-22 the number and percentage of employees covered;
8-23 (10) the number and percentage of participating
8-24 employers that offer health care insurance coverage and the number
8-25 and percentage of employees covered;
9-1 (11) the number and percentage of women employers and
9-2 minority employers receiving grants under the program and the total
9-3 amount of the grants awarded, broken out by group;
9-4 (12) the number and percentage of women, minority
9-5 group members, and disabled individuals participating as trainees
9-6 in training projects, broken out by group; and
9-7 (13) the number and percentage of women private
9-8 providers and private providers who are minority group members
9-9 utilized by employers in training projects, broken out by group.
9-10 Explanation: These additions are necessary to modify the
9-11 provisions regarding administration of and participation in the
9-12 Smart Jobs Fund Program.
9-13 ______________________________________
9-14 President of the Senate
9-15 I hereby certify that the above
9-16 Resolution was adopted by the Senate
9-17 on June 1, 1997, by the following
9-18 vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
9-19 ______________________________________
9-20 Secretary of the Senate