82S10418 KSD-D
 
  By: Watson S.B. No. 40
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment and administration of the Texas
  Essential Workers Program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by
  adding Chapter 314 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 314. TEXAS ESSENTIAL WORKERS PROGRAM
         Sec. 314.001.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to
  develop and establish, in collaboration with the federal
  government, a Texas Essential Workers Program to provide an
  adequate, legal, and stable workforce for employers in this state
  who are experiencing a critical shortage in the availability of
  qualified workers, particularly in the industries of ranching,
  farming, dairy, food manufacturing, construction, landscaping, and
  restaurant and hotel services.  The enactment of this chapter
  represents an effort to:
               (1)  recognize the need for additional workers in
  workforce shortage industries in this state;
               (2)  eliminate the exploitation of undocumented
  workers in this state;
               (3)  ensure the payment of taxes by all employers and
  employees in this state;
               (4)  increase national security in and the fiscal
  resources of this state; and
               (5)  improve the overall economy of this state.
         Sec. 314.002.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
  of the State of Texas.
               (2)  "Eligible employer" means a person who:
                     (A)  employs one or more employees in a workforce
  shortage industry in this state; and
                     (B)  for a period of at least 30 days has been
  unable to find a sufficient number of qualified workers who are
  authorized to be employed in the United States to meet the
  employer's workforce needs.
               (3)  "Foreign worker" means a person who is approved by
  the commission as eligible to provide labor to a participating
  eligible employer under the program.
               (4)  "Program" means the Texas Essential Workers
  Program established under this chapter.
               (5)  "Workforce shortage industry" means the
  agriculture and dairy industries and other industries in this state
  designated by the commission under this chapter as experiencing a
  critical shortage in the availability of workers.
         Sec. 314.003.  RULES. The commission shall adopt rules
  necessary to administer this chapter.
         Sec. 314.004.  PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.
  (a) The commission shall establish and administer the Texas
  Essential Workers Program to enable participating eligible
  employers to employ qualified foreign workers. In establishing the
  program, the commission shall conduct outreach to and solicit
  information from employers in this state to determine:
               (1)  which industries should be designated as workforce
  shortage industries under this chapter; and
               (2)  the number of foreign workers that would be
  sufficient to meet the workforce needs of employers in those
  industries.
         (b)  Based on the commission's findings under Subsection
  (a), the commission shall petition the federal government for the
  temporary admission into this country under H2-A and H2-B visas of a
  sufficient number of foreign workers to meet the workforce needs of
  eligible employers in this state.
         (c)  As a part of the program, the commission shall:
               (1)  establish a system for the recruitment and
  referral of local workers for available workforce shortage industry
  jobs in this state; and
               (2)  require participating eligible employers to
  attempt to hire employees using that system before hiring foreign
  workers.
         (d)  To the extent permitted by federal law, the commission,
  the governor, and the secretary of state may jointly enter into
  agreements between this state and foreign countries to facilitate
  the recruitment and selection of eligible foreign workers for
  participation in the program and the approval for participation in
  the program of the workers by participating eligible employers.
  The commission shall:
               (1)  prescribe eligibility criteria for any person
  recruiting foreign workers under the program; and
               (2)  maintain a list of recruiters approved by the
  commission as satisfying that criteria.
         Sec. 314.005.  REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING ELIGIBLE
  EMPLOYERS. (a) To participate in the program, an eligible employer
  must:
               (1)  submit to the commission:
                     (A)  an application, in the form and manner
  prescribed by the commission; and
                     (B)  a signed, sworn affidavit attesting that
  during the 30-day period immediately preceding the date of the
  employer's application, the employer was unable to find a
  sufficient number of qualified workers authorized to work in the
  United States to meet the employer's workforce needs; and
               (2)  pay a fee in the amount prescribed by the
  commission.
         (b)  The application prescribed by the commission under
  Subsection (a) must require the employer to provide:
               (1)  the employer's name, address, federal income tax
  identification number, and industry;
               (2)  a detailed description of:
                     (A)  the workforce shortage the employer is
  experiencing; and
                     (B)  the measures the employer has taken to
  identify and recruit local workers equipped with the skills
  necessary to meet the employer's workforce needs; and
               (3)  any other information the commission considers
  appropriate.
         (c)  The commission shall review an employer's application
  and, not later than the 30th day after the date the commission
  receives the application, notify the employer regarding whether the
  commission has approved the employer's application for
  participation in the program.
         (d)  On receipt of notice from the commission that the
  commission has approved the employer's application, a
  participating eligible employer, subject to any limitations or
  requirements prescribed by this chapter or rules adopted under this
  chapter, may:
               (1)  recruit foreign workers at any United States
  consulate; and
               (2)  enter into employment contracts for the temporary
  employment of foreign workers.
         (e)  An employment contract between a participating eligible
  employer and a foreign worker must provide that the worker will be
  employed for at least three-fourths of each work day during the
  contract period.
         (f)  Each participating employer who employs a foreign
  worker under the program shall:
               (1)  provide the worker a copy of the employment
  contract between the employer and the worker in the worker's native
  language;
               (2)  pay the worker at least twice each month;
               (3)  pay wages to the worker that are in compliance with
  the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C.
  Section 1101 et seq.);
               (4)  provide to the worker, without charge:
                     (A)  housing that meets safety and health
  standards established by federal law;
                     (B)  transportation between the worker's local
  housing and the worksite;
                     (C)  workers' compensation coverage; and
                     (D)  all tools, supplies, and equipment required
  to perform the worker's assigned duties;
               (5)  provide to the worker:
                     (A)  three low-cost meals each day, the cost of
  which must be disclosed in the worker's employment contract; or
                     (B)  free cooking and kitchen facilities;
               (6)  make available to the worker English as a second
  language classes;
               (7)  after the expiration of half of the worker's
  employment contract period, promptly reimburse the worker for any
  costs incurred by the worker for transportation and subsistence
  from the site of recruitment to the employer's place of employment;
               (8)  after the expiration of the worker's employment
  contract, promptly pay for the costs of return transportation and
  subsistence to the site of the worker's recruitment; and
               (9)  provide any other employees of the employer who
  perform the same job as the foreign worker with the same benefits,
  wages, and working conditions as the employer provides the foreign
  worker.
         (g)  The commission may inspect housing described by
  Subsection (f)(4)(A).
         Sec. 314.006.  FOREIGN WORKER APPLICATION. The commission
  shall prescribe the form and content of an application to be used by
  any person seeking to participate in the program as a foreign
  worker. The application must require the applicant to provide the
  applicant's name, photograph, fingerprints, and any other
  information the commission considers appropriate.
         Sec. 314.007.  PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN
  WORKER. (a) To be eligible to participate in the program as a
  foreign worker, a person must:
               (1)  complete a foreign worker application at the
  United States consulate in the person's country of origin;
               (2)  be approved by the commission after passing:
                     (A)  a criminal history record information check
  conducted by the appropriate authorities in the person's country of
  origin; and
                     (B)  a federal and state criminal history record
  information check conducted by the department under Section
  314.009; and
               (3)  have been issued a current H2-A or H2-B visa.
         (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2)(A), the employer
  seeking to hire the person must obtain a copy of the results of the
  criminal history record information check conducted by the
  appropriate authorities in the person's country of origin and
  submit the results to the commission. The employer shall pay any
  fee charged for obtaining that information.
         (c)  A person may not participate in the program as a foreign
  worker if the person has been convicted of:
               (1)  any crime in the United States; or
               (2)  a crime in the foreign worker's country of origin
  that would have been classified as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony
  in this state.
         (d)  A participating foreign worker may not file for or
  receive unemployment insurance benefits.
         Sec. 314.008.  FOREIGN WORKER FAMILY MEMBERS. (a) A family
  member of a foreign worker may participate in the program only if
  the family member meets the requirements of Section 314.007.
         (b)  A foreign worker may not transport a family member into
  this state unless the family member has proper federal
  authorization.
         Sec. 314.009.  CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION CHECK.
  The department shall conduct a state and federal criminal history
  record information check to determine the eligibility of each
  person who applies to participate in the program as a foreign
  worker. The employer seeking to employ the person shall be charged
  a fee for the criminal history record information check.
         Sec. 314.010.  ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY WORKER LEGAL
  IDENTIFICATION CARDS TO FOREIGN WORKERS BY DEPARTMENT. (a) The
  department shall issue to each foreign worker a temporary worker
  legal identification card under this section. The identification
  card must:
               (1)  be non-forgeable;
               (2)  indicate the date on which the foreign worker's
  authorized presence in this state expires; and
               (3)  meet any other requirements prescribed by federal
  law.
         (b)  The department shall prescribe the fee for the issuance
  of an identification card under this section. The fee shall be paid
  by the participating eligible employer who employs the foreign
  worker.
         (c)  The identification card shall be issued to the
  participating eligible employer employing the foreign worker who
  shall then provide the card to the foreign worker. A
  participating employer shall return the identification card to the
  department as soon as practicable after:
               (1)  the date the foreign worker's approved presence in
  this state expires; or
               (2)  the date the employer revokes the identification
  card from the worker under Subsection (d).
         (d)  A participating eligible employer shall revoke the
  identification card of a foreign worker employed by the employer
  if:
               (1)  the foreign worker is absent from work without
  approval for more than 13 consecutive days;
               (2)  the employer is unable to locate the foreign
  worker for more than six days;
               (3)  the employer determines that the foreign worker
  has traveled outside of this state;
               (4)  the foreign worker is convicted of a crime in this
  state;
               (5)  the foreign worker is no longer employed by the
  employer; or
               (6)  the foreign worker gives, sells, or lends the
  worker's identification card to another person for the purpose of
  obtaining employment.
         (e)  A participating eligible employer who fails to return an
  identification card to the department as required by Subsection (c)
  is ineligible to participate in the program.
         (f)  The department shall maintain a database of foreign
  workers to whom the department has issued an identification card
  under this section.
         (g)  Any essential documents provided to a foreign worker by
  the department must be provided in the foreign worker's native
  language.
         (h)  An identification card issued under this section is
  valid for two years. The department shall adopt a procedure for the
  renewal of an identification card issued under this section.
         (i)  The department, in consultation with the commission,
  shall adopt rules for the administration of this section.
         SECTION 2.  Section 411.104, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsections (c) and (e) to
  read as follows:
         (b-1)  The Texas Workforce Commission is entitled to obtain
  from the department criminal history record information maintained
  by the department that relates to a person who is:
               (1)  an applicant seeking to participate as a foreign
  worker in the Texas Essential Workers Program under Chapter 314,
  Labor Code; or
               (2)  a foreign worker participating in that program.
         (c)  Criminal history record information obtained by the
  commission under Subsection (b) or (b-1) may not be released or
  disclosed to any person except on court order or with the written
  consent of the person who is the subject of the criminal history
  record information.
         (e)  The commission shall destroy the criminal history
  record information of:
               (1)  an applicant for a security sensitive position who
  is not hired; or
               (2)  a person described by Subsection (b-1), after the
  commission has determined the person's initial or continued
  eligibility to participate in the program described by that
  subsection.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  The Texas Workforce Commission and
  Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas may implement
  Chapter 314, Labor Code, as added by this Act, only if the federal
  government authorizes this state to implement an essential workers
  program or similar program.
         (b)  If the federal government authorizes this state to
  implement an essential workers program or similar program, the
  Texas Workforce Commission and Department of Public Safety of the
  State of Texas, as soon as practicable after the date the program is
  authorized, shall adopt rules for the administration of Chapter
  314, Labor Code, as added by this Act.
         (c)  The attorney general shall monitor federal legislation
  for the purposes of this section.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
  last day of the legislative session.