HBA-SEP H.B. 2503 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2503
By: Homer
Economic Development
4/2/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Employers who use publicly funded services offered by the Texas Workforce
Commission and local workforce development boards (boards) often find that
the workers referred to them lack basic work skills. Boards may be able to
address this by determining the skills employers need and focus training on
those skills.  House Bill 2503 requires each career development center in a
local workforce development area to administer a job skills assessment test
to a recipient of public assistance to assess the recipient's job skills
before referring the recipient to an employer for an interview or job
placement.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2503 amends the Government Code to require each career
development center (center) in a local workforce development area to
administer a job skills assessment test to a recipient of public assistance
to assess the recipient's job skills before referring the recipient to an
employer for an interview or job placement.  The center is authorized to
administer a job skills assessment test to another person on request.  The
bill also requires a center to use the WorkKeys assessment test developed
by the American College Testing program or another equivalent assessment
test.  A center that uses the WorkKeys assessment test is required to
become licensed as a WorkKeys service center or contract with a licensed
WorkKeys service center to administer the test.  A local workforce
development board (board) is authorized to apply for, receive, and use
state and federal funds to administer job skills assessment tests
throughout centers in the local workforce development area.  If those funds
are insufficient to pay the cost of the assessment tests, a center is
authorized to charge a fee to an employer to whom the center refers a
person for an interview or job placement for administering the test.  A
board is authorized to collect data from the job skills assessment tests to
determine the effectiveness of providers of workforce training and
services.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.