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. 1-63 * * * * *