By Sibley S.R. No. 992
75R17565 MLS-D
R E S O L U T I O N
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 of 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
1-22 from other occupations without at least two months of customized
1-23 education or training.
1-24 (4) "Employee" means an individual who performs
2-1 services for another under a contract of hire, whether express or
2-2 implied, or oral or written.
2-3 (5) [(4)] "Employer" means a person that employs one
2-4 or more employees.
2-5 (6) [(5)] "Executive director" means the executive
2-6 director of the department.
2-7 (7) [(6)] "Existing employer" means an employer that:
2-8 (A) has been liable to pay contributions under
2-9 Subtitle A, Title 4, Labor Code ([the] Texas Unemployment
2-10 Compensation Act) [(Article 5221b-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil
2-11 Statutes)] for more than one year;
2-12 (B) has employees; and
2-13 (C) is in compliance with the reporting and
2-14 payment requirements of that Act, as determined by the Texas
2-15 Workforce [Employment] Commission.
2-16 (8) [(7)] "Family wage job" means a job that offers:
2-17 (A) wages equal to or greater than the state
2-18 average weekly wage;
2-19 (B) benefits, such as vacation leave, sick
2-20 leave, and insurance coverage;
2-21 (C) reasonable opportunities for continued skill
2-22 development and career path advancement; and
2-23 (D) a substantial likelihood of long-term job
2-24 security.
2-25 (9) [(8)] "In-kind contribution" means a noncash
2-26 contribution of goods and services provided by an employer as all
2-27 or part of the employer's matching share of a grant or project.
3-1 (10) [(9)] "Job" means employment on a basis
3-2 customarily considered full-time for the applicable occupation and
3-3 industry.
3-4 (11) "Manufacturing occupation" means an occupation
3-5 that is involved in the mechanical or chemical transformation of
3-6 materials or substances into new products.
3-7 (12) "Micro-business" means an eligible business with
3-8 not more than 20 employees.
3-9 (13) [(10)] "Minority employer" means a business
3-10 entity at least 51 percent of which is owned by minority group
3-11 members or, in the case of a corporation, at least 51 percent of
3-12 the shares of which are owned by minority group members and that:
3-13 (A) is managed and, in daily operations, is
3-14 controlled by minority group members; and
3-15 (B) is a domestic business entity with a home or
3-16 branch office located in this state and is not a branch or
3-17 subsidiary of a foreign corporation or other foreign business
3-18 entity.
3-19 (14) [(11)] "Minority group members" include:
3-20 (A) African-Americans;
3-21 (B) American Indians;
3-22 (C) Asian-Americans; [and]
3-23 (D) Mexican-Americans and other Americans of
3-24 Hispanic origin; and
3-25 (E) women.
3-26 (15) [(12)] "Program" means the smart jobs fund
3-27 program created under this subchapter.
4-1 (16) [(13)] "Project" means a specific employment
4-2 training project developed and implemented under this subchapter.
4-3 (17) [(14)] "Provider" means a person that provides
4-4 employment-related training. The term includes employers,
4-5 employer associations, labor organizations, community-based
4-6 organizations, training consultants, public and private schools,
4-7 technical institutes, junior or community colleges, senior
4-8 colleges, universities, and proprietary schools, as defined by
4-9 Section 132.001, Education Code.
4-10 (18) "Small business" has the meaning assigned that
4-11 term by Section 481.101.
4-12 (19) [(15)] "State average weekly wage" means the
4-13 annual average of the average weekly wage of manufacturing
4-14 production workers in this state as of September 1 of each year, as
4-15 determined by the Texas Workforce [Employment] Commission [under
4-16 Section 3(b), Texas Unemployment Compensation Act (Article 5221b-1,
4-17 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)], adjusted for regional variances.
4-18 (20) [(16)] "Targeted industry" means an industry that
4-19 promotes high-skill, high-wage jobs using Texas-available material
4-20 and human resources, as determined by the department.
4-21 (21) [(17)] "Trainee" means a participant in a project
4-22 funded under this subchapter.
4-23 (22) [(18)] "Wages" means all forms of compensation or
4-24 remuneration, excluding benefits, payable for a specific period to
4-25 an employee for personal services rendered by that employee.
4-26 SECTION 36. Section 481.154, Government Code, is amended to
4-27 read as follows:
5-1 Sec. 481.154. FUNDING. (a) The smart jobs fund is
5-2 established as a special trust fund in the custody of the state
5-3 treasurer separate and apart from all public money or funds of this
5-4 state. The fund is composed of:
5-5 (1) money transferred into the fund under Section
5-6 204.123, Labor Code [9e, Texas Unemployment Compensation Act
5-7 (Article 5221b-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)];
5-8 (2) gifts, grants, and other donations received by the
5-9 department for the fund; and
5-10 (3) any amounts appropriated by the legislature for
5-11 the program.
5-12 (b) The program is funded through the smart jobs fund.
5-13 (c) Money in the smart jobs fund may be used for program
5-14 administration, marketing expenses, and evaluation of the program.
5-15 These costs of the department in any fiscal year may not exceed
5-16 five percent of the total amount appropriated for the program for
5-17 [funds deposited in the smart jobs fund in] that year.
5-18 (d) If, during any three consecutive months, the balance in
5-19 the smart jobs fund exceeds 0.15 percent of the total taxable wages
5-20 for the four calendar quarters ending the preceding June 30, as
5-21 computed under Section 204.062(c), Labor Code [7(c)(8), Texas
5-22 Unemployment Compensation Act (Article 5221b-5, Vernon's Texas
5-23 Civil Statutes)], the executive director shall immediately transfer
5-24 the excess to the Unemployment Compensation Fund created under
5-25 Section 203.021, Labor Code [9(a), Texas Unemployment Compensation
5-26 Act (Article 5221b-7, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
5-27 SECTION 38. Section 481.156(a), Government Code, is amended
6-1 to read as follows:
6-2 (a) The following may apply for a grant under this
6-3 subchapter:
6-4 (1) one or more employers to secure training for
6-5 demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing
6-6 occupations [in a particular industry];
6-7 (2) one or more employers acting in partnership with
6-8 an employer organization, labor organization, or community-based
6-9 organization to secure training for demand occupations, emerging
6-10 occupations, or manufacturing occupations [in a particular
6-11 industry]; or
6-12 (3) one or more employers acting in partnership with a
6-13 consortium composed of [one or] more than one provider [providers]
6-14 to secure training for demand occupations, emerging occupations,
6-15 or manufacturing occupations [in a particular industry].
6-16 SECTION 39. Section 481.159(c), Government Code, is amended
6-17 to read as follows:
6-18 (c) Each contract must provide a schedule for payment of
6-19 smart jobs fund money. Twenty-five percent of allowable
6-20 expenditures [the grant award] shall be withheld by the department
6-21 for 90 days after the date of completion of the contract
6-22 [project]. If at least 85 percent [all] of the trainees in the
6-23 project have been retained in employment for that 90-day period
6-24 and have successfully achieved the skills and competencies, wage
6-25 requirements, and other contractual obligations, the amount of
6-26 allowable expenditures [the grant award] withheld shall be
6-27 remitted to the employer. [For each trainee who is not retained in
7-1 employment for that 90-day period, the amount withheld shall be
7-2 reduced by the amount of the training costs for that trainee that
7-3 is derived from grant money, and any balance shall be remitted to
7-4 the employer.] If there is a negative balance, the employer is
7-5 liable for the amount of the negative balance and shall remit that
7-6 amount to the department not later than the 30th day after the date
7-7 on which the employer is notified of the negative balance by the
7-8 department.
7-9 SECTION 40. Section 481.160(b), Government Code, is amended
7-10 to read as follows:
7-11 (b) The annual report must include for that fiscal year:
7-12 (1) the number of employers receiving grants under the
7-13 program;
7-14 (2) the total amount of grants awarded;
7-15 (3) the value, expressed in dollars and as a
7-16 percentage of total training expenditures, of matching
7-17 contributions made by employers;
7-18 (4) the number of small businesses, as defined by
7-19 Section 481.101(3), that receive grants under the program and the
7-20 total amount of the grants awarded to those businesses;
7-21 (5) the number of businesses located in enterprise
7-22 zones, as that term is defined by Chapter 2303, that receive grants
7-23 under the program and the total amount of the grants awarded to
7-24 those businesses;
7-25 (6) the geographical distribution of employers
7-26 receiving grants under the program;
7-27 (7) the total number of jobs created, enhanced, or
8-1 retained under the program, reported by region of the state and by
8-2 occupation;
8-3 (8) the wage levels of trainees entering or returning
8-4 to the work force, broken down by current employees undergoing
8-5 retraining and new hires, at three months and[,] one year[, and
8-6 three years] after the conclusion of their training;
8-7 (9) the number and percentage of participating
8-8 employers that provide workers' compensation insurance coverage and
8-9 the number and percentage of employees covered;
8-10 (10) the number and percentage of participating
8-11 employers that offer health care insurance coverage and the number
8-12 and percentage of employees covered;
8-13 (11) the number and percentage of women employers and
8-14 minority employers receiving grants under the program and the total
8-15 amount of the grants awarded, broken out by group;
8-16 (12) the number and percentage of women, minority
8-17 group members, and disabled individuals participating as trainees
8-18 in training projects, broken out by group; and
8-19 (13) the number and percentage of women private
8-20 providers and private providers who are minority group members
8-21 utilized by employers in training projects, broken out by group.
8-22 Explanation: These additions are necessary to modify the
8-23 provisions regarding administration of and participation in the
8-24 Smart Jobs Fund Program.