1-1     By:  Villarreal, Naishtat                             H.B. No. 1243
 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte)
 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 25, 2001;
 1-4     April 26, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-5     Business and Commerce; May 10, 2001, reported adversely, with
 1-6     favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays
 1-7     0; May 10, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-8     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1243            By:  Van de Putte
 1-9                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-10                                   AN ACT
1-11     relating to monitoring by the Texas Workforce Commission of the
1-12     long-term employment history of certain former recipients of public
1-13     assistance.
1-14           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-15           SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is amended
1-16     by adding Section 302.009 to read as follows:
1-17           Sec. 302.009.  MONITORING OF EMPLOYMENT HISTORY OF CERTAIN
1-18     FORMER RECIPIENTS OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. (a)  The division shall
1-19     develop and implement a system to monitor the long-term employment
1-20     history of persons who are former recipients of assistance under
1-21     employment programs operated by the division under:
1-22                 (1)  Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; and
1-23                 (2)  7 U.S.C. Section 2015(d).
1-24           (b)  In designing the system, the division shall cooperate
1-25     with the Texas Department of Human Services.
1-26           (c)  For each former recipient of assistance, the system must
1-27     be designed to:
1-28                 (1)  establish a baseline earnings measure based on the
1-29     recipient's earnings on leaving the employment program;
1-30                 (2)  track the wage and employment outcomes of the
1-31     recipient for a period of up to but not more than three years;
1-32                 (3)  provide, to the extent possible, information
1-33     regarding the recipient's household composition and earnings;
1-34                 (4)  provide, to the extent possible, information
1-35     regarding additional training or education received by the
1-36     recipient;
1-37                 (5)  compute:
1-38                       (A)  the recipient's individual earnings as a
1-39     percentage of the federal poverty level; and
1-40                       (B)  if data is available, the recipient's
1-41     household earnings as a percentage of the federal poverty level;
1-42     and
1-43                       (C)  if data is available, the recipient's income
1-44     as a percentage of the federal poverty level adjusted for the total
1-45     value of any public assistance utilized by the recipient's
1-46     household, including, but not limited to, medical assistance, food
1-47     stamps, child care, transportation assistance, the federal earned
1-48     income tax credit, and job training activities; and
1-49                 (6)  compare the recipient's individual earnings to a
1-50     self-sufficiency standard similar to that required under 20 C.F.R.
1-51     Section 663.230.
1-52           (d)  The commission shall report to the legislature not later
1-53     than January 1 of each odd-numbered year regarding the information
1-54     obtained from the system developed under Subsection (a).  The
1-55     report required under this subsection may be made separately or as
1-56     a part of any other required report submitted to the legislature by
1-57     the commission.
1-58           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-59     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-60     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
1-61     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-62     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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