Amend HB 3697 on third reading by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  (a) In this section, "real-time employment and income information" means up-to-date, non-modeled employment and income data provided by employers and payroll providers.

(b)  In order to improve the timeliness of unemployment compensation payments, operational efficiencies, and cost savings and to minimize fraud, the Texas Workforce Commission shall participate in a no-cost pilot by which the commission shall obtain real-time employment and income information from a third-party commercial consumer reporting agency, in accordance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.), for the purpose of assisting with the determination of an individual's eligibility to receive unemployment benefits, including to conduct an analysis on the pilot.

(c)  The Texas Workforce Commission shall report on the value of integrating real-time employment and income information into existing verification and eligibility determination procedures and the potential to identify fraud and produce cost savings.