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78R912 KSD-D
By: Solomons H.B. No. 2171
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation of the Council on Workforce and
Economic Competitiveness as the Texas Workforce Investment Council
and to the functions performed by the council.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. CONTINUATION AS TEXAS WORKFORCE
INVESTMENT COUNCIL
SECTION 1.01. The heading of Chapter 2308, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2308. WORKFORCE INVESTMENT [AND ECONOMIC
COMPETITIVENESS] ACT
SECTION 1.02. Section 2308.001, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as
the Workforce Investment [and Economic Competitiveness] Act.
SECTION 1.03. Section 2308.002(1), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Council" means the Texas Workforce Investment
Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness].
SECTION 1.04. Section 2308.005, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.005. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT. The Texas
Workforce Investment Council [on Workforce and Economic
Competitiveness] is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the
council is abolished September 1, 2015 [2003].
SECTION 1.05. Section 2308.006(a), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) If a change in law made by House Bill 3431, Acts of the
76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, would have the effect of
invalidating an exemption granted under the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998 (Pub. L. No. 105-220), the Texas Workforce Investment
Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness] may not operate
under that change in law but, instead, shall operate under the law
as it existed before September 1, 1999 [the effective date of this
Act].
ARTICLE 2. COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP AND TRAINING
SECTION 2.01. Section 2308.052, Government Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(b) The council is composed of:
(1) three voting members who represent education, one
of whom represents local public education, one of whom represents
public postsecondary education, and one of whom represents
vocational education;
(2) five voting members who represent organized labor
appointed from recommendations made by recognized labor
organizations;
(3) five voting members who represent business and
industry, including business members serving on local workforce
development boards or private industry councils;
(4) two voting members who represent community-based
organizations; and
(5) the following ex officio voting members:
(A) the commissioner of education [chair of the
State Board of Education];
(B) the commissioner of higher education [chair
of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board];
(C) the commissioner of human services
[presiding officer of the Texas Board of Human Services];
(D) the executive director [presiding officer of
the policy advisory board] of the Texas Department of Economic
Development; and
(E) the executive director [chair] of the Texas
Workforce Commission.
(c) The membership of the council must represent the [ethnic
and] geographic diversity of this state.
(e) Appointments to the council shall be made without regard
to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national
origin of the appointees.
SECTION 2.02. Section 2308.053(a), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The governor shall designate one of the business or
labor representatives on the council [to serve] as the presiding
officer of the council to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of
the governor.
SECTION 2.03. Sections 2308.056(a) and (c), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) It is a ground for removal from the council that a member
who is not an ex officio member:
(1) does not have at the time of appointment the
qualifications required by Section 2308.052;
(2) does not maintain during service on the council
the qualifications required by Section 2308.052;
(3) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term [for which the member is appointed because of illness or
disability];
(4) is absent from more than one-fourth of the
regularly scheduled council meetings that the member is eligible to
attend during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a
majority vote of the council's members; or
(5) is absent from two consecutive council meetings
for which the member received notice not less than 48 hours before
the time of the meeting.
(c) If the executive director has knowledge that a potential
ground for removal exists, the executive director shall notify the
presiding officer of the council of the ground. The presiding
officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney general
that a potential ground for removal exists. If the potential ground
for removal involves the presiding officer, the executive director
shall notify the next highest ranking officer of the council, who
shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a
potential ground for removal exists.
SECTION 2.04. Section 2308.158, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.158. COUNCIL TRAINING; STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
INFORMATION. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
office as a council member may not vote, deliberate, or be counted
as a member in attendance at a meeting of the council until the
person completes a training program that complies with this
section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the legislation that created the council;
(2) the programs operated by the council;
(3) the role and functions of the council;
(4) the rules of the council, with an emphasis on the
rules that relate to disciplinary and investigatory authority;
(5) the current budget for the council;
(6) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
council;
(7) the requirements of:
(A) the open meetings law, Chapter 551;
(B) the public information law, Chapter 552;
(C) the administrative procedure law, Chapter
2001; and
(D) other laws relating to public officials,
including conflict-of-interest laws; and
(8) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
council or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) Each council member shall comply with the member
training requirements established by any other state agency that is
given authority to establish the requirements for the council.
(d) [(b)] The executive director shall provide to the
council's members and employees, as often as necessary, information
regarding the requirements [their qualifications] for office or
employment under this chapter, including information regarding a
person's [and their] responsibilities under applicable laws
relating to standards of conduct for state officers and employees.
SECTION 2.05. As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the ex officio voting members of the Texas
Workforce Investment Council described by Section 2308.052(b),
Government Code, as amended by this article, shall begin to serve on
the council.
SECTION 2.06. The changes in law made by this article in the
prohibitions or qualifications applying to members of the Texas
Workforce Investment Council do not affect the entitlement of a
member serving on the council immediately before September 1, 2003,
to continue to serve and function as a member of the council for the
remainder of the member's term. Those changes in law apply only to
a member appointed on or after September 1, 2003.
ARTICLE 3. COUNCIL DUTIES
SECTION 3.01. Section 2308.101, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The members of the council shall develop and implement
policies that:
(1) clearly separate:
(A) the policy-making responsibilities of the
members of the council; and
(B) the management responsibilities of the
executive director and the staff of the council; and
(2) provide the public with a reasonable opportunity
to appear before the council and to speak on any issue under the
jurisdiction of the council.
SECTION 3.02. Subchapter C, Chapter 2308, Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 2308.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.1015. DUTY TO FACILITATE DELIVERY OF INTEGRATED
WORKFORCE SERVICES. (a) To facilitate the seamless delivery of
integrated workforce services in this state, the council shall:
(1) evaluate programs administered by agencies
represented on the council to identify:
(A) any duplication of or gaps in the services
provided by those programs; and
(B) any other problems that adversely affect the
seamless delivery of those services; and
(2) develop and implement immediate and long-range
strategies to address problems identified by the council under
Subdivision (1).
(b) The council shall include in the council's annual report
to the governor and to the legislature:
(1) a list of specific problems identified by the
council under Subsection (a) to be addressed by the council in the
following year; and
(2) the results of any measures taken by the council to
address problems identified by the council under Subsection (a).
(c) The long-range strategies developed by the council
under Subsection (a) must:
(1) identify each agency represented on the council
that is responsible for implementing each strategy; and
(2) include a time frame for the implementation of
each strategy.
SECTION 3.03. Section 2308.104, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) The council shall include in the strategic plan
long-range strategies developed by the council under Section
2308.1015 to facilitate the seamless delivery of integrated
workforce services in this state.
SECTION 3.04. Subchapter C, Chapter 2308, Government Code,
is amended by adding Sections 2308.107 and 2308.108 to read as
follows:
Sec. 2308.107. COMPLAINTS AGAINST COUNCIL. (a) The
council shall maintain a file on each written complaint filed with
the council. The file must include:
(1) the name of the person who filed the complaint;
(2) the date the complaint is received by the council;
(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
(4) the name of each person contacted in relation to
the complaint;
(5) a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint; and
(6) an explanation of the reason the file was closed,
if the council closed the file without taking action other than to
investigate the complaint.
(b) The council shall provide to the person filing the
complaint and to each person who is a subject of the complaint a
copy of the council's policies and procedures relating to complaint
investigation and resolution.
(c) The council, at least quarterly until final disposition
of the complaint, shall notify the person filing the complaint and
each person who is a subject of the complaint of the status of the
investigation unless the notice would jeopardize an undercover
investigation.
Sec. 2308.108. POLICY ON TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS. The
members of the council shall develop and implement a policy
requiring the executive director and council employees to research
and propose appropriate technological solutions to improve the
council's ability to perform its functions. The technological
solutions must:
(1) ensure that:
(A) the public is able to easily find information
about the council on the Internet; and
(B) persons who want to use the council's
services are able to:
(i) interact with the council through the
Internet; and
(ii) access any service that can be
provided effectively through the Internet;
(2) be cost-effective; and
(3) be developed through the council's planning
processes.
SECTION 3.05. Subchapter D, Chapter 2308, Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 2308.159 to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.159. STATE EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE PROGRAM
INFORMATION AND TRAINING. The executive director or the executive
director's designee shall provide to council employees information
and training on the benefits and methods of participation in the
state employee incentive program.
SECTION 3.06. The Texas Workforce Investment Council shall
implement Sections 2308.101, 2308.1015, 2308.104, 2308.108, and
2308.159, Government Code, as amended or added by this article, not
later than February 1, 2004.
SECTION 3.07. Section 2308.107, Government Code, as added
by this article, applies only to a written complaint filed with the
Texas Workforce Investment Council on or after the effective date
of this Act, regardless of whether the conduct or act that is the
subject of the complaint occurred or was committed before, on, or
after the effective date of this Act.
ARTICLE 4. TRANSFER OF MAINTENANCE OF WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION SYSTEM FROM COUNCIL TO
TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION
SECTION 4.01. The heading of Section 2308.151, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.151. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUNDING FORMULA FOR
EVALUATION SYSTEM[; FUNDING].
SECTION 4.02. Section 2308.151(c), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
[(c)] The council shall establish, with the approval of the
governor, a funding formula to determine the level of support each
agency administering a workforce program must provide to operate
the automated follow-up and evaluation system administered by the
Texas Workforce Commission under Subchapter E, Chapter 302, Labor
Code [required by this section].
SECTION 4.03. Chapter 302, Labor Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION SYSTEM
Sec. 302.081. MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION SYSTEM. (a) The commission shall maintain
and operate an automated follow-up and evaluation system derived
from appropriate available information, including:
(1) unemployment insurance wage records maintained by
the commission; and
(2) student follow-up information available through
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(b) The agencies represented on the council shall fund the
maintenance and operation of the evaluation system by using funds
available to the agencies for evaluation of each agency's workforce
development programs.
Sec. 302.082. INFORMATION AND DATA FOR EVALUATION SYSTEM.
(a) Each state agency represented on the council shall provide
information to support the commission's follow-up and evaluation
system as requested.
(b) Evaluation data in the system must include:
(1) placement rates;
(2) wages paid;
(3) retention in employment statistics;
(4) the number of education and training-related
placements; and
(5) other appropriate factors, including public
welfare dependency and the pursuit of additional education.
(c) The commission may develop a method for collecting
occupational information to supplement wage record information
collected by the commission. The commission may request employers,
providers, and other appropriate sources to provide placement,
employment, and earnings information to the commission.
Sec. 302.083. ANALYSIS. (a) At least annually, the
commission shall issue an analysis, by occupation and by the
provider of the job placement performance, of each workforce
development program for the previous one-year, three-year, and
five-year periods to:
(1) each provider of workforce education or workforce
training and services;
(2) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for
each provider of workforce education approved and administered by
the coordinating board;
(3) each local workforce development board for each
provider of workforce training and services in the workforce
development area; and
(4) the division.
(b) The commission shall post each analysis issued under
Subsection (a) on the commission's Internet website in a format
that is readily accessible to and understandable by a member of the
public.
Sec. 302.084. USE BY TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING
BOARD. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall use the
job placement information received under this subchapter and other
information to:
(1) evaluate the effectiveness of workforce
education;
(2) determine whether a public or private workforce
education program is effective in placing persons who successfully
complete the program in jobs related to the persons' training; and
(3) determine whether to continue, expand, or
terminate a program established under Section 61.051, Education
Code.
Sec. 302.085. USE BY COUNCIL AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
BOARD. The council and each local workforce development board
shall use the information developed under this subchapter and other
information to determine whether a specific workforce training and
services program administered by or funded by the local board is
effective and whether to continue the training and services
program.
Sec. 302.086. USE OF EVALUATION SYSTEM. The follow-up and
evaluation system shall be used to assist the council, local
workforce development boards, institution boards, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Education Agency, and other
agencies in evaluating the labor market success and effectiveness
of workforce development in this state.
SECTION 4.04. As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Workforce Investment Council shall
transfer all records and information relating to the maintenance
and operation of the workforce development evaluation system to the
Texas Workforce Commission.
ARTICLE 5. REPEALER
SECTION 5.01. Sections 2308.151(a) and (b), Government
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 5.02. Sections 2308.152-2308.156, Government Code,
are repealed.
ARTICLE 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
SECTION 6.01. Section 19.011, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 19.011. COORDINATION WITH OTHER STATE AGENCIES. (a)
In order to achieve the goals stated in Section 19.003, the district
with the cooperation of the Health and Human Services Commission,
the Texas Workforce Investment Council [on Workforce and Economic
Competitiveness], the Texas Department of Economic Development
[Commerce], and the department shall provide persons confined or
imprisoned in the department:
(1) information from local workforce and development
boards on job training and employment referral services; and
(2) information on the tax refund voucher program
under Subchapter H [D], Chapter 301 [31], Labor [Human Resources]
Code[; and
[(3) information on the smart jobs fund program].
(b) The district may coordinate vocational education and
job training programs with a local workforce development board
authorized by the Texas Workforce Investment Council [on Workforce
and Economic Competitiveness].
SECTION 6.02. Section 30.103, Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 30.103. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. The Texas Youth
Commission with the assistance of the Texas Workforce [Employment]
Commission and the Texas Workforce Investment Council [on Workforce
and Economic Competitiveness] shall by rule adopt a memorandum of
understanding that establishes the respective responsibility of
those entities to provide through local workforce development
boards job training and employment assistance programs to children
committed or formerly sentenced to the Texas Youth Commission. The
Texas Youth Commission shall coordinate the development of the
memorandum of understanding and include in its annual report
information describing the number of children in the preceding year
receiving services under the memorandum.
SECTION 6.03. Section 61.051(f), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) The board shall encourage and develop new certificate
programs in technical and vocational education in Texas public
technical institutes and public community colleges as the needs of
technology and industry may demand and shall recommend the
elimination of such programs for which a need no longer exists. The
board shall conduct a review of the certificate programs at least
every four years or on the request of the Texas Workforce Investment
Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness] and shall
terminate a program that does not meet performance review standards
and other criteria established by the board. The board shall assume
the leadership role and administrative responsibilities for state
level administration of postsecondary technical-vocational
education programs in Texas public community colleges, public
technical institutes, and other eligible public postsecondary
institutions. The board shall ensure that standardized minimum
technical and skill-specific competency and performance standards
for each workforce education program, as developed by the Texas
Workforce Investment Council [on Workforce and Economic
Competitiveness], are used in the board's review, approval, or
disapproval of a vocational and technical program financed by state
and federal funds.
SECTION 6.04. Section 61.077, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.077. JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) A joint
advisory committee shall advise the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board and the State Board of Education in coordinating
postsecondary career and technology activities, career and
technology teacher education programs offered or proposed to be
offered in the colleges and universities of this state, and other
relevant matters, including those listed in Section 61.076 of this
code. The committee shall be composed of three members from the
State Board of Education[,] appointed by the chair [chairman] of
the board, [and] three members from the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board[,] appointed by the chairman of the board, one
member designated by the presiding officer of the Texas Workforce
Investment Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness],
and one member representing business designated by the chair of the
Texas Partnership for Economic Development. A member of the board
shall be designated as chairman of the joint advisory committee by
the chairman of the board. The committee shall hold regular annual
meetings as called by the chairman.
(b) The purposes of this committee shall include the
following:
(1) to advise the two boards on the coordination of
postsecondary career and technology education and the articulation
between postsecondary career and technology education and
secondary career and technology education;
(2) to facilitate the transfer of responsibilities for
the administration of postsecondary career and technology
education from the State Board of Education to the board in
accordance with Section 111(a)(I) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
Education Act, Public Law 98-524;
(3) to advise the State Board of Education, when it
acts as the State Board for Career and Technology Education, on the
following:
(A) the transfer of federal funds to the board
for allotment to eligible public postsecondary institutions of
higher education;
(B) the career and technology education funding
for projects and institutions as determined by the board when the
State Board for Career and Technology Education is required by
federal law to endorse such determinations;
(C) the development and updating of the state
plan for career and technology education and the evaluation of
programs, services, and activities of postsecondary career and
technology education and such amendments to the state plan for
career and technology education as may relate to postsecondary
education;
(D) other matters related to postsecondary
career and technology education; and
(E) the coordination of curricula, instructional
programs, research, and other functions as appropriate, including
areas listed in Section 61.076 of this code, school-to-work and
school-to-college transition programs, and professional
development activities; and
(4) to advise the Texas Workforce Investment Council
[on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness] on educational policy
issues related to workforce preparation.
SECTION 6.05. Sections 76.014(a) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) A department, with the assistance of the Texas Workforce
Commission, the Texas Workforce Investment Council [on Workforce
and Economic Competitiveness], local workforce development boards,
and other appropriate public and private entities, may establish a
developmental program for a defendant under the supervision of the
department on the basis of information obtained in the presentence
investigation report prepared for the defendant.
(c) To decrease expenditures by departments for the
educational and vocational skills assessment and enhancement
program established under this section, the Texas Department of
Economic Development [Commerce] shall provide information to
departments, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Workforce
Investment Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness],
local workforce development boards, and other appropriate public
and private entities for obtaining financial assistance through
programs under Chapter 301, Labor Code, and other applicable
programs of public or private entities.
SECTION 6.06. Section 481.168(a), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The attorney general, the comptroller, the Texas
Department of Economic Development, and the Texas Workforce
Investment Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness]
shall:
(1) conduct a survey of tax incentive laws and
economic development laws enacted in other states since 1990; and
(2) deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor,
and the speaker of the house of representatives a joint report of
the results of the survey.
SECTION 6.07. Section 497.094(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department and the Texas Workforce Investment
Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness] by rule shall
adopt a memorandum of understanding that establishes the respective
responsibility of those entities to provide through local workforce
development boards job training and employment assistance to
persons formerly sentenced to the institutional division or the
state jail division and information on services available to
employers or potential employers of those persons. The department
shall coordinate the development of the memorandum of
understanding.
SECTION 6.08. Section 31.0126(f), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) In this section, a "local workforce development board"
means a local workforce development board created under Chapter
2308, Government Code [Section 4.01, Workforce and Economic
Competitiveness Act (Article 5190.7a, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes)].
SECTION 6.09. Sections 301.001(d)(3) and (6), Labor Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(3) "Council" means the Texas Workforce Investment
Council [on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness].
(6) "Local workforce development board" means an
entity formed under Chapter 2308, Government Code [Section 4.01,
Workforce and Economic Competitiveness Act (Article 5190.7a,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
SECTION 6.10. Sections 306.007(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) To assist in the reintegration into the labor force of
persons formerly sentenced to the institutional division or the
state jail division, the commission through Project RIO shall
provide:
(1) to those persons:
(A) information from local workforce development
boards on job training and employment referral services;
(B) information from the Texas Commission on
Alcohol and Drug Abuse on substance abuse treatment services;
(C) information from the Texas Department of
Housing and Community Affairs on housing services;
(D) information from the Texas Veterans
Commission on services for veterans; and
(E) information [from the Texas Department of
Human Services] on tax refund voucher programs under Subchapter H
[D], Chapter 301 [31, Human Resources Code]; and
(2) to the employers and potential employers of those
persons:
(A) information from the Texas Department of
Economic Development [Commerce] on the enterprise zone program [and
smart jobs fund program]; and
(B) information from local workforce development
boards on services listed in Section 2308.304, Government Code.
(b) The commission shall adopt a memorandum of
understanding with each of the following agencies that establishes
the respective responsibilities of the commission and the agencies
in providing information described by Subsection (a) to persons
formerly sentenced to the institutional division or the state jail
division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, to employers
or potential employers of those persons, and to local workforce
development boards:
(1) the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
(2) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs;
(3) the Texas Veterans Commission;
(4) the Texas Department of Human Services;
(5) the Texas Department of Economic Development
[Commerce]; and
(6) the Texas Workforce Investment Council [on
Workforce and Economic Competitiveness].
SECTION 6.11. Section 313.025(c), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) In determining whether to grant an application, the
governing body of the school district is entitled to request and
receive assistance from:
(1) the comptroller;
(2) the Texas Department of Economic Development;
(3) the Texas Workforce Investment Council [on
Workforce and Economic Competitiveness]; and
(4) the Texas Workforce Commission.
ARTICLE 7. TRANSITION PROVISIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 7.01. The name of the Council on Workforce and
Economic Competitiveness is changed to the Texas Workforce
Investment Council. Any reference in law to the Council on
Workforce and Economic Competitiveness means the Texas Workforce
Investment Council.
SECTION 7.02. All appropriations made by the legislature
for the use and benefit of the Council on Workforce and Economic
Competitiveness are available for the use and benefit of the Texas
Workforce Investment Council.
SECTION 7.03. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.