BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2652

By: Ordaz

Trade, Workforce & Economic Development

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that child-care access and affordability are pressing issues affecting many working families across Texas, particularly parents working non-traditional hours; workers in health care, service, manufacturing, and other related industries who work early mornings, evenings, nights, and weekends often have few, if any, child-care options that meet their needs. The bill author also informed the committee that El Paso, in particular, is a child-care desert where parents struggle to find available child-care options. This prevents parents from not only maintaining employment, but also seeking further education to upskill and grow their earning potential. H.B. 2652 seeks to address this gap in care by creating a certified caregiver pilot program.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Workforce Commission in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2652 amends the Labor Code to require the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to establish and administer the certified caregiver pilot program in the Borderplex workforce development area to address the need for after-hours child care for single-parent household working parents who are pursuing a short-term workforce training program in the area. The program must do the following:

· assist employees of child-care facilities licensed under Human Resources Code provisions relating to the regulation of such facilities with obtaining a certified caregiver license under the bill's provisions in order to provide child care to the children of eligible parents outside of regular working hours in the employee's home; and

· provide supplemental subsidized child care for single-parent households eligible under the bill's provisions.

H.B. 2652 requires the local workforce development board serving the Borderplex workforce development area to select a total of 30 single-parent families eligible under the bill's provisions that will qualify for supplemental subsidized child care for a period of not more than six months. A certified caregiver licensed under the bill's provisions must be eligible to participate in TWC's subsidized child-care program to provide child care outside regular working hours to a child of a parent participating in the program.

H.B. 2652 requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to adopt a procedure to issue a license to a caregiver who meets the bill's requirements that allows the caregiver to operate as a listed family home for the pilot program's purposes. The procedure must require a caregiver to meet the following criteria:

· be a current employee of a licensed child-care facility with not less than two years of child-care experience;

· provide after-hours child care in the caregiver's own home; and

· list the caregiver's home with HHSC as a family home and comply with minimum standards for a listed family home adopted by the executive commissioner under the applicable Human Resources Code provisions.

H.B. 2652 requires a parent, at the time of application, to meet the following criteria to be eligible to receive a child-care subsidy under the certified caregiver pilot program:

· receive a subsidy under the TWC child-care subsidy program;

· reside in a single-parent household;

· have completed a sufficient number of postsecondary education credit hours, as determined by TWC;

· be enrolled in or agree to enroll in a short-term workforce training program supported by the local workforce development board serving the Borderplex workforce development area; and

· demonstrate a need for child care outside of regular working hours in order to complete the workforce training program.

H.B. 2652 requires TWC, not later than December 1, 2028, to prepare and submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and standing committee of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over economic development a report on the following:

· the program's efficacy;

· the completion rate of workforce training programs by parents receiving child care under the program;

· the program's total cost; and

· a recommendation on whether to continue, expand, or terminate the program.

The bill requires TWC to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions. The bill's provisions expire September 1, 2029.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.