By Villarreal, Naishtat                               H.B. No. 1243
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to monitoring by the Texas Workforce Commission of the
 1-3     long-term employment history of certain former recipients of public
 1-4     assistance.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is amended
 1-7     by adding Section 302.009 to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 302.009.  MONITORING OF EMPLOYMENT HISTORY OF CERTAIN
 1-9     FORMER RECIPIENTS OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. (a)  The division shall
1-10     develop and implement a system to monitor the long-term employment
1-11     history of persons who are former recipients of assistance under:
1-12                 (1)  Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; and
1-13                 (2)  Chapter 33, Human Resources Code.
1-14           (b)  In designing the system, the division shall cooperate
1-15     with the Texas Department of Human Services and the department
1-16     shall provide all information needed by the division to evaluate
1-17     results.
1-18           (c)  For each former recipient of assistance, the system must
1-19     be designed to:
1-20                 (1)  establish a baseline earnings measure based on the
1-21     recipient's earnings on leaving the employment program;
1-22                 (2)  track the wage and employment outcomes of the
1-23     recipient for a period of up to but not more than three years;
1-24                 (3)  provide, to the extent possible, information
 2-1     regarding the recipient's household composition and earnings;
 2-2                 (4)  provide, to the extent possible, information
 2-3     regarding additional training or education received by the
 2-4     recipient;
 2-5                 (5)  compute:
 2-6                       (A)  the recipient's individual earnings as a
 2-7     percentage of the federal poverty level; and
 2-8                       (B)  if data is available, the recipient's
 2-9     household earnings as a percentage of the federal poverty level;
2-10     and
2-11                       (C)  if data is available, the recipient's income
2-12     as a percentage of the federal poverty level adjusted for the total
2-13     value of any public assistance utilized by the recipient's
2-14     household including, but not limited to, medical assistance, food
2-15     stamps, child care, transportation assistance, the federal earned
2-16     income tax credit, and job training activities; and
2-17                 (6)  compare the recipient's individual earnings to a
2-18     self-sufficiency standard similar to that required under 20 C.F.R.
2-19     Section 663.230.
2-20           (d)  The commission, with the assistance of the department,
2-21     shall report to the legislature not later than January 1 of each
2-22     odd-numbered year regarding the information obtained from the
2-23     system developed under Subsection (a).  The report required under
2-24     this subsection may be made separately or as a part of any other
2-25     required report submitted to the legislature by the commission.
2-26           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-27     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
 3-1     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-2     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-3     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.