By: Bettencourt, West  S.B. No. 1622
         (In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2021; March 24, 2021, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
  May 3, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 3, 2021, sent
  to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1622 By:  Birdwell
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to measures to support the alignment of education and
  workforce development in the state with state workforce needs,
  including the establishment of the Tri-Agency Workforce
  Initiative.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as the Texas Education
  and Workforce Alignment Act.
         SECTION 2.  Subtitle G, Title 10, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 2308A to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 2308A. TRI-AGENCY WORKFORCE INITIATIVE
         Sec. 2308A.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Agency," unless the context requires otherwise,
  means the Texas Education Agency.
               (2)  "Career education and training program" means:
                     (A)  a career and technology education program
  offered by a public school;
                     (B)  a career technical or workforce education
  program, as defined by the coordinating board, offered by an
  institution of higher education;
                     (C)  a program administered by the commission
  relating to jobs training, skills development, or adult education
  and literacy; and
                     (D)  a work-based learning program, such as an
  apprenticeship or internship program, that receives state funding
  or is administered by the commission.
               (3)  "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
  Commission.
               (4)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board.
               (5)  "Initiative" means the Tri-Agency Workforce
  Initiative.
               (6)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
               (7)  "State workforce development goals" means the
  state workforce development goals developed under Section
  2308A.006.
         Sec. 2308A.002.  PURPOSE. The Tri-Agency Workforce
  Initiative is established to coordinate and optimize information
  and other resources as necessary to:
               (1)  align career education and training programs to
  workforce demands;
               (2)  provide residents of the state with timely and
  accurate information needed to plan education and workforce
  pathways; and
               (3)  enable local and state policy makers to evaluate
  the effectiveness of career education and training programs and
  progress toward the state workforce development goals.
         Sec. 2308A.003.  INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS AND STAFFING. (a)
  The agency, coordinating board, and commission shall enter into one
  or more interagency agreements establishing policies and processes
  for:
               (1)  sharing and matching relevant data and
  cooperatively managing education and workforce information
  collected by each respective agency; and
               (2)  coordinating the assignment of staff and other
  resources to the initiative as necessary to effectuate the state
  workforce development goals and the strategies for achieving those
  goals developed under Section 2308A.006.
         (b)  The time spent by an employee of the agency,
  coordinating board, or commission in supporting the work of the
  initiative is not included in calculating the number of full-time
  equivalent employees allotted to the respective agency under other
  law.
         Sec. 2308A.004.  QUARTERLY DISCUSSIONS. The commissioner of
  education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
  commission shall discuss the work of the initiative at least once
  per quarter.
         Sec. 2308A.005.  UNIFIED WORKFORCE DATA REPOSITORY. (a)
  The agency, coordinating board, and commission shall use the
  P-20/Workforce Data Repository established under Section
  1.005(j-1), Education Code, as the central repository of career and
  education data. The agency, coordinating board, and commission
  shall regularly review the data collected by the respective agency
  and incorporate into the repository data determined by the
  executive officer of that agency to be integral to the state
  workforce development goals and the strategies for achieving those
  goals developed under Section 2308A.006.
         (b)  Any data or reports made accessible to the public under
  the initiative must comply with applicable state and federal laws
  governing use of and access to the data.
         (c)  Where applicable, the agency, coordinating board, and
  commission shall ensure that records deposited in the repository
  are automatically matched at the student level on a timely basis to
  ensure that the agency, coordinating board, and commission and
  other entities authorized to access the repository have timely
  information to support higher education and workforce application,
  entry, and success.
         Sec. 2308A.006.  STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND
  STRATEGIES. (a) The commissioner of education, commissioner of
  higher education, and chair of the commission jointly shall develop
  and post in a prominent location on the initiative's and each
  respective agency's Internet website state workforce development
  goals and coordinated interagency strategies for achieving those
  goals.
         (b)  The goals developed under Subsection (a) must:
               (1)  be developed in consultation with employers;
               (2)  include goals for the attainment of employment in
  jobs that pay a living wage for all career education and training
  programs in the state;
               (3)  be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender
  for each workforce development region; and
               (4)  provide for:
                     (A)  locally determined priorities consistent
  with state goals; and
                     (B)  collaborative planning and coordination with
  local employers, public schools, institutions of higher education,
  and local workforce development boards.
         (c)  The strategies developed under Subsection (a) must:
               (1)  include strategies for expanding work-based
  learning;
               (2)  articulate the ways in which the state can best
  leverage state and federal funding for career education and
  training programs; and
               (3)  be demonstrably guided by:
                     (A)  education and workforce data;
                     (B)  evidence of success and considerations of
  cost-effectiveness; and
                     (C)  prioritized occupational classifications,
  including all target occupations and critical career pathways
  designated under Subsection (e).
         (d)  In consultation with employers, the commissioner of
  education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
  commission jointly shall update the state workforce development
  goals and strategies developed under Subsection (a) at least every
  four years, or more frequently if needed to reflect available data
  and circumstances.
         (e)  In consultation with employers, the commissioner of
  education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
  commission shall designate and update every two years a list of
  career pathways that includes the following two priority
  categories:
               (1)  target occupations, which include current needs
  that exist in one or more regions of the state as reflected in
  regional workforce assessments that:
                     (A)  use the best available data and local
  employer requests; and
                     (B)  satisfy minimum federal standards for
  designations, such as a foundation for qualified use of federal
  workforce funding; and
               (2)  critical career pathways that reflect the best
  statewide data and forecasts of skills and careers for which demand
  in the state is expected to grow that may:
                     (A)  be associated with new emerging industries or
  new specialty occupations within an industry; or
                     (B)  reflect pathways to better wages for workers
  with documented skills that provide promotional opportunities
  within or across occupations with targeted upskill training.
         (f)  Not later than June 1, 2022, the commissioner of
  education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
  commission jointly shall make recommendations regarding the
  development of a modern and publicly accessible job skills
  inventory for public and private sector jobs in the state,
  including recommendations on:
               (1)  cataloging worker skills and matching those skills
  to public and private sector jobs in the state;
               (2)  creating skills profiles for all jobs and career
  pathways designated under Subsection (e) that are vital to the
  state; and
               (3)  identifying skills and competencies offered by
  each career education and training program in the state.
         (g)  Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1,
  2023.
         Sec. 2308A.007.  CREDENTIAL LIBRARY. (a) The agency,
  coordinating board, and commission jointly shall establish a
  publicly accessible web-based library of credentials, such as
  diplomas, certificates, certifications, digital badges,
  apprenticeships, licenses, or degrees, that are:
               (1)  delivered, issued, funded, or governed by the
  state;
               (2)  aligned with recognized skills and industry
  standards;
               (3)  available to residents of the state; and
               (4)  used by employers in the state.
         (b)  The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
  shall designate a host agency or operating entity for the
  credential library.
         (c)  The credential library must be updated at least once per
  year.
         Sec. 2308A.008.  INTERNET-BASED RESOURCES. (a) The agency,
  coordinating board, and commission shall cooperatively establish
  Internet-based resources for the initiative.  The resources must
  include:
               (1)  a central Internet website for the initiative that
  contains information on the state workforce development goals and
  the strategies for achieving those goals developed under Section
  2308A.006;
               (2)  a unified dashboard, updated on an annual or more
  frequent basis, that reports progress toward accomplishment of the
  state workforce development goals, both statewide and
  disaggregated by public school and public school campus,
  institution of higher education campus, workforce region, and
  county;
               (3)  data on the outcomes of students who participate
  in career education and training programs, disaggregated to the
  extent practicable by income, race, ethnicity, and gender,
  including data regarding degree and credential completion,
  employment status and industry of employment, and earnings over
  time;
               (4)  guidance supporting the use of data on the
  dashboard described by Subdivision (2) for greater accessibility
  for a wide range of public, practitioner, and legislative users;
               (5)  tools enabling residents of the state to:
                     (A)  explore careers that match the resident's
  education and skills and lead to a living wage;
                     (B)  identify and evaluate education and training
  opportunities related to the resident's career interests; and
                     (C)  connect to available jobs through existing
  job matching websites; and
               (6)  tools to support joint program planning,
  budgeting, and performance evaluation among:
                     (A)  the agency, coordinating board, and
  commission; and
                     (B)  public schools, institutions of higher
  education, local workforce development boards, and partnering
  entities.
         (b)  The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
  shall:
               (1)  solicit public comment on the usefulness of the
  initiative's Internet-based resources; and
               (2)  in January of each even-numbered year, publish a
  summary of the initiative's Internet-based resources, including
  actions taken to increase the usefulness of those resources or
  address comments received under Subdivision (1).
         Sec. 2308A.009.  STUDENT SUCCESS REPORTING. (a) The
  agency, coordinating board, and commission shall coordinate data
  collection and matching necessary to provide information to each
  public school and institution of higher education regarding the
  success of students previously enrolled in a career education and
  training program offered by the school or institution with respect
  to critical student outcomes, such as degree and credential
  completion, employment status and industry of employment, and
  earnings over time.
         (b)  The commissioner of education, commissioner of higher
  education, and chair of the commission shall ensure that the
  information provided under Subsection (a) is provided in a manner
  that complies with applicable state or federal law regarding the
  privacy and confidentiality of student information.
         (c)  In January of each even-numbered year, the commissioner
  of education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
  commission jointly shall prepare, submit to the legislature, and
  post on the initiative's and each respective agency's Internet
  website a report on the impact of career education and training
  programs on student success and the state workforce development
  goals.
         Sec. 2308A.010.  OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT. At least 30 days
  before finalizing state workforce development goals, strategies
  for achieving those goals developed under Section 2308A.006, or a
  report under Section 2308A.009, the agency, coordinating board, and
  commission jointly shall post on the initiative's and each
  respective agency's Internet website the proposed goals,
  strategies, or report and instructions for submitting comment on
  those items to the agencies.
         Sec. 2308A.011.  SECURE PORTAL. (a) For purposes of state
  and local planning, program evaluation, and continuous improvement
  of local and regional education and workforce practices, the
  agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly shall establish
  and support a secure portal through which authorized personnel of
  approved entities can view and analyze comprehensive longitudinal
  and the most currently available matched data related to the
  progress toward meeting state workforce needs.
         (b)  The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
  shall develop role-based security protocols that ensure the privacy
  and confidentiality of information made accessible through the
  secure portal in a manner that complies with any applicable state or
  federal law.
         Sec. 2308A.012.  EMPLOYER RECOGNITION. (a) The governor
  may award a Talent for Texas Champions Governor's Award to
  recognize leading employers in the state who are contributing to
  workforce improvement by supporting priority job training,
  reskilling, and upskilling programs and whose contributions align
  with strategic priorities for the state, including helping to meet
  regional workforce demands and enabling more residents of the state
  to attain jobs that pay a living wage.
         (b)  The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
  shall nominate employers for the award under this section.
         Sec. 2308A.013.  TARGETED FUNDING TO ADDRESS STATE GOALS.
  (a) A state agency that receives funding through the Carl D.
  Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C.
  Section 2301 et seq.) or the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
  Act (Pub. L. No. 113-128) or any other federal funding for career
  education and training may, to the extent permissible under federal
  law, combine with, transfer to, or delegate to another state agency
  that receives such funding the agency's management of
  workforce-related funding as necessary to implement the state
  workforce development goals.
         (b)  The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
  shall submit to the governor and the standing legislative
  committees with jurisdiction over state financial alignment
  efforts a biennial report on how federal and state funding for
  career education and training programs are being spent in
  accordance with the state workforce development goals.
         (c)  A state agency that receives federal or state funding
  for career education and training programs shall include in the
  agency's legislative appropriations request a description of how
  the agency's career education and training programs and
  expenditures align with the state workforce development goals.
         Sec. 2308A.014.  LIVING WAGE. The agency, coordinating
  board, and commission jointly shall determine for each county the
  wage that constitutes a living wage for purposes of this chapter.
  The determination must be based on a common standard that reflects
  the regionally adjusted minimum employment earnings necessary to
  meet a family's basic needs while also maintaining
  self-sufficiency.
         Sec. 2308A.015.  GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS.  (a)  The
  agency, coordinating board, and commission may accept gifts,
  grants, and donations from any public or private source for
  purposes of the initiative.
         (b)  The agency, coordinating board, and commission shall
  investigate potential sources of funding from federal grants or
  programs that may be used for purposes of the initiative.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 204, Labor Code, is
  amended by adding Section 204.0025 to read as follows:
         Sec. 204.0025.  ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE DATA REPORTING. (a)
  The commission shall work in consultation with employers as
  provided by this section to enhance and improve the reporting of
  employment and earnings data by employers to the commission as part
  of an employer's routine wage filings under this subtitle or
  commission rule and consistent with federal law and regulations.  
  The enhanced wage filings must include information related to
  occupation and other important employment information that would
  improve the state's labor market information.
         (b)  The commission, in consultation with employers and
  human resource technology providers, shall develop viable data
  priorities and standards for reporting and collecting enhanced wage
  filings described by Subsection (a).
         (c)  Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,
  the commission shall prepare and submit to the legislature and post
  on the commission's Internet website a report on employer
  participation in the enhanced wage filings described by Subsection
  (a), a cost-benefit analysis on the enhanced wage filings to the
  workforce planning process in the state, and any recommendations
  for legislative or other action to improve the enhanced wage
  filings.
         (d)  Not later than January 1, 2022, the commission shall
  design and implement a voluntary pilot program for the reporting
  and collection of enhanced wage filings described by Subsection
  (a).  To the greatest extent possible, the commission shall include
  a representative sample of employers in the pilot program.
         (e)  Not later than September 1, 2022, the commission shall
  submit to the legislature a report on the results of the pilot
  program and any recommendations for legislative or other action.
         (f)  Subsections (d) and (e) and this subsection expire
  September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 4.  Not later than October 1, 2021, the Texas
  Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and
  Texas Workforce Commission shall hold the initial discussion
  required under Section 2308A.004, Government Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 5.  (a) Not later than January 31, 2022, the Texas
  Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and
  Texas Workforce Commission shall develop the initial state
  workforce development goals required under Section 2308A.006,
  Government Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  Not later than April 30, 2022, the Texas Education
  Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas
  Workforce Commission shall develop the initial strategies required
  under Section 2308A.006, Government Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 6.  Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas
  Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and
  Texas Workforce Commission shall establish the credential library
  required under Section 2308A.007, Government Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 7.  (a)  Not later than September 1, 2022, the Texas
  Workforce Commission shall develop the data priorities and
  standards for reporting and collecting enhanced wage filings as
  required under Section 204.0025(b), Labor Code, as added by this
  Act.
         (b)  Not later than September 1, 2024, the Texas Workforce
  Commission shall submit the commission's initial report required
  under Section 204.0025(c), Labor Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 8.  (a)  The Texas Education Agency, Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce Commission are
  required to implement Chapter 2308A, Government Code, as added by
  this Act, only if:
               (1)  the legislature appropriates funds for that
  purpose;
               (2)  federal funding is provided to the agencies for
  that purpose as part of any federal coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
  relief spending; or
               (3)  the agencies receive gifts, grants, or donations
  for that purpose under Section 2308A.015, Government Code, as added
  by this Act.
         (b)  If funding described by Subsection (a) of this section
  is not appropriated or otherwise made available for the purpose
  described by that subsection, the Texas Education Agency, Texas
  Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce
  Commission may, but are not required to, implement Chapter 2308A,
  Government Code, as added by this Act, using other money available
  to the agencies for that purpose.
         SECTION 9.  The Texas Workforce Commission is required to
  implement Section 204.0025, Labor Code, as added by this Act, only
  if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
  purpose.  If the legislature does not appropriate money
  specifically for that purpose, the commission may, but is not
  required to, implement that section using other appropriations
  available for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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