79R9418 JSA-F

By:  Ogden                                                        S.B. No. 1614



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to statutory authority for certain governmental entities 
to take certain actions to permit the legislature to reduce 
appropriations to those agencies.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  (a)  Notwithstanding any statute to the 
contrary, the legislature, in its discretion, may determine the 
amount of each appropriation of state funds.  The amounts required 
by statute for entities that receive state funds under Article VII 
of the General Appropriations Act, 79th Legislature, Regular 
Session, 2005, may be reduced or eliminated in order to achieve a 
balanced budget.
	(b)  This section expires September 1, 2007.                                   
	SECTION 2.  (a)  This section applies to the following state 
agencies:       
		(1)  the Texas Department of Housing and Community 
Affairs;                 
		(2)  the Texas Lottery Commission;                                            
		(3)  the Office of Rural Community Affairs;                                   
		(4)  the Texas Department of Transportation; and                              
		(5)  the Texas Workforce Commission.                                          
	(b)  Notwithstanding any other statute of this state, each 
state agency to which this section applies is authorized to reduce 
expenditures by:
		(1)  consolidating any reports or publications the 
agency is required to make and filing or delivering any of those 
reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
		(2)  extending the effective period of any license, 
permit, or registration the agency grants or administers;
		(3)  entering into a contract with another governmental 
entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the agency's 
duties;
		(4)  providing that any communication between the 
agency and another person and any document required to be delivered 
to or by the agency, including any application, notice, billing 
statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by 
electronic mail or through the Internet; and
		(5)  adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover 
any costs the agency incurs in performing its lawful functions.
	SECTION 3.  Chapter 303, Labor Code, is amended by adding 
Section 303.007 to read as follows:
	Sec. 303.007.  PAYMENT OF PORTION OF TRAINING COSTS BY 
EMPLOYER.  The commission may require an employer whose employees 
participate in a training program under this chapter to pay a 
portion, not to exceed 50 percent, of the costs of the training 
program in cash or cash equivalents.  The public community or 
technical college or the Texas Engineering Extension Service, as 
appropriate, shall reimburse the employer for the amount of the 
costs of the training program paid by the employer in excess of the 
portion the commission requires the employer to pay under this 
section.
	SECTION 4.  Section 303.007, Labor Code, as added by this 
Act, applies only to training provided under Chapter 303, Labor 
Code, under a contract between the Texas Workforce Commission and a 
public community or technical college or the Texas Engineering 
Extension Service entered into on or after the effective date of 
this Act.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.