BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 595 |
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By: Workman |
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Ways & Means |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note the myriad benefits of providing high school students with internship opportunities. C.S.H.B. 595 seeks to promote internship opportunities in Texas by providing a franchise tax credit for businesses that provide a paid internship that meets certain requirements.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Workforce Commission and the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 595 amends the Tax Code to entitle a taxable entity to a credit against the franchise tax in the amount of $1,000 for each eligible student who completes an internship program offered by the entity that is a paid internship or similar program that meets the requirements of rules adopted by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and that is part of curriculum requirements for an endorsement on the student's high school transcript, the curriculum for a public junior college, or a course of study in a private school or a nontraditional education setting that is substantially similar under rules adopted by the commissioner of education under the bill's provisions. The bill requires the TWC, after consulting with the commissioner of education and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, to adopt rules providing the requirements that an internship or program must meet to be considered an eligible internship program for purposes of the tax credit. The bill requires the commissioner of education to adopt rules to determine whether a student's course of study in a private school or nontraditional secondary education setting is substantially similar to the curriculum requirements for an endorsement on a student's high school transcript and requires the rules adopted by the TWC to be consistent with the rules adopted by the commissioner. The bill defines "eligible student" as a student who has reached the minimum age required under the Labor Code to legally work in the eligible internship program and who is enrolled in a public or private school, in a course of study in a nontraditional secondary education setting, including a home school setting, or full-time or part-time in a public junior college.
C.S.H.B. 595 limits the eligible internship programs for which a taxable entity may claim the franchise tax credit to an eligible internship program offered by the taxable entity that is located or based in Texas and prohibits a taxable entity from claiming the credit in connection with an eligible student if an owner of the taxable entity is related to the eligible student within the third degree of consanguinity. The bill requires a taxable entity to apply for the tax credit on or with the tax report for the period for which the credit is claimed, requires the comptroller of public accounts to promulgate a form for the application for the credit, and requires a taxable entity to use such a form in applying for the credit. The bill authorizes a taxable entity to claim the credit against the tax owed for a privilege period only in connection with an eligible student who completes an eligible internship program during the privilege period.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
January 1, 2018.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 595 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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