1-1     By:  Yarbrough (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte)         H.B. No. 694
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
 1-3     May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
 1-4     and Commerce; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits of
 1-9     certain sheltered workshop employees who are blind.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1. Section 201.067, Labor Code, is amended to read as
1-12     follows:
1-13           Sec. 201.067.  REHABILITATIVE SERVICE; WORK RELIEF; EXCEPTION
1-14     FOR SERVICES PERFORMED BY CERTAIN BLIND INDIVIDUALS.  (a) In this
1-15     subtitle, "employment" does not include service performed by an
1-16     individual who:
1-17                 (1)  receives [service performed by an individual
1-18     receiving] rehabilitative work or paying work in the employ of a
1-19     facility that:
1-20                       (A)  is conducted to carry [for the purpose of
1-21     carrying] out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose
1-22     earning capacity is impaired by:
1-23                             (i)  age;
1-24                             (ii)  [,] physical impairment, other than
1-25     blindness; or
1-26                             (iii)   mental deficiency or injury; or
1-27                       (B)  [that] provides paying work for individuals
1-28     who, because of their impaired physical or mental capacity, cannot
1-29     be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market; [or]
1-30                 (2)  is blind while the individual is in training at a
1-31     sheltered workshop operated by a charitable organization under a
1-32     rehabilitation program that includes:
1-33                       (A)  an individual plan for employment as
1-34     required by 29 U.S.C. Section 722, as amended;
1-35                       (B)  a timeline for completion of the training;
1-36     and
1-37                       (C)  a planned employment outcome; or
1-38                 (3)  receives work relief or work training [service
1-39     performed] as a part of an unemployment work-relief or
1-40     work-training program assisted or financed in whole or in part by a
1-41     federal agency, an agency of a state, or a political subdivision of
1-42     a state [by an individual receiving the work relief or work
1-43     training].
1-44           (b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), in this subtitle
1-45     "employment" includes service performed by an individual who is
1-46     blind and who, after training, is working for a sheltered workshop
1-47     operated by a charitable organization:
1-48                 (1)  temporarily while awaiting placement in a position
1-49     of employment in the competitive labor market; or
1-50                 (2)  permanently because the individual is unable to
1-51     compete in the competitive labor market.
1-52           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-53     applies only to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits that
1-54     is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or after that date.
1-55     A claim filed before that date is governed by the law in effect on
1-56     the date that the claim was filed, and the former law is continued
1-57     in effect for that purpose.
1-58                                  * * * * *