BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2294

By: Thompson

Trade, Workforce & Economic Development

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that all child-care programs serving children in the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) Child Care Services scholarship program must participate in the Texas Rising Star Program, which offers three levels of quality certification to encourage child-care and early learning programs to attain progressively higher levels of quality, which are tied to graduated reimbursement rates for children receiving child-care scholarships. The bill author has also informed the committee that although the program is supposed to offer higher reimbursement rates for child-care providers based on their quality rating, providers in low-income areas must keep their rates affordable for their communities but cannot be reimbursed by TWC beyond their published rates, even if they provide high-quality childcare. This leads to these providers receiving low reimbursements and having to eventually close down. H.B. 2294 seeks to address this issue by providing for increased flexibility in reimbursing program providers.

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.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2294 amends the Government Code to authorize each local workforce development board to reimburse a Texas Rising Star Program provider in the board's area at the board's maximum rate of reimbursement for the provider's Texas Rising Star Program rating level regardless of the provider's published rate only if paying the higher reimbursement rate does not reduce the Texas Workforce Commission's target performance measure for the average number of children served each day for children receiving subsidized child care in the workforce development area served by the board.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.