Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3241 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8183 MCK-F
2	2	By: Martinez H.B. No. 3241
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to economic development in the state by creating economic
8	8	development opportunities in counties that contain colonias and by
9	9	developing the workforce by increasing adult literacy rates.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 61.0663 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 61.0663. HIGHER EDUCATION COLONIA COUNTIES WORK GROUP.
14	14	(a) The board shall establish the colonia counties work group to
15	15	study and propose policies and legislation regarding the issues
16	16	faced by counties that contain a colonia, as defined by Section
17	17	5.1781, Water Code, including issues related to international
18	18	trade.
19	19	(b) The work group is composed of:
20	20	(1) one representative from each institution of higher
21	21	education with a center, institute, or other unit of the
22	22	institution specializing in issues faced by communities that
23	23	contain colonias, as identified by the board; and
24	24	(2) the heads of the following agencies or their
25	25	designees:
26	26	(A) the board;
27	27	(B) the Office of Rural Community Affairs;
28	28	(C) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
29	29	Affairs;
30	30	(D) the Texas Water Development Board;
31	31	(E) the Texas Department of Transportation;
32	32	(F) the Texas Commission on Environmental
33	33	Quality;
34	34	(G) the Texas Workforce Commission;
35	35	(H) the Department of State Health Services;
36	36	(I) the Health and Human Services Commission;
37	37	(J) the General Land Office;
38	38	(K) the Texas Education Agency;
39	39	(L) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism
40	40	Office;
41	41	(M) the Office of State-Federal Relations;
42	42	(N) the attorney general's office; and
43	43	(O) the secretary of state's office.
44	44	(c) The colonia counties work group shall:
45	45	(1) meet at least quarterly in Austin to discuss
46	46	issues faced by counties that contain a colonia;
47	47	(2) discuss and evaluate ideas and policies to address
48	48	those issues; and
49	49	(3) not later than November 1 of each even-numbered
50	50	year, submit a report recommending appropriate policies to address
51	51	those issues, including any proposals for legislation to implement
52	52	the policies, to the presiding officer of each legislative standing
53	53	committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education or
54	54	economic development.
55	55	SECTION 2. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
56	56	Subchapter FF to read as follows:
57	57	SUBCHAPTER FF. ADULT EDUCATION AND LITERACY
58	58	Sec. 61.981. COOPERATION WITH TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION.
59	59	The board shall collaborate with the Texas Workforce Commission to
60	60	improve the coordination and implementation of adult education and
61	61	literacy services in this state.
62	62	SECTION 3. Chapter 481, Government Code, is amended by
63	63	adding Subchapter Q to read as follows:
64	64	SUBCHAPTER Q. TEXAS COLONIA COUNTIES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT
65	65	COMMISSION
66	66	Sec. 481.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
67	67	(1) "Colonia" has the meaning assigned by Section
68	68	5.1781, Water Code.
69	69	(2) "Commission" means the Texas Colonia Counties
70	70	Strategic Investment Commission.
71	71	Sec. 481.302. TEXAS COLONIA COUNTIES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT
72	72	COMMISSION; MEMBERS. (a) The Texas Colonia Counties Strategic
73	73	Investment Commission is composed of the following officers or
74	74	their designees:
75	75	(1) the lieutenant governor;
76	76	(2) the speaker of the house of representatives;
77	77	(3) the comptroller;
78	78	(4) the commissioner of agriculture;
79	79	(5) the chair of the Senate Finance Committee;
80	80	(6) the chair of the House Appropriations Committee;
81	81	and
82	82	(7) the secretary of state.
83	83	(b) The lieutenant governor or the lieutenant governor's
84	84	designee shall serve as the chair of the commission.
85	85	Sec. 481.303. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. (a) Not later than
86	86	December 1 of each even-numbered year, the commission shall
87	87	identify and recommend funding for strategic investment
88	88	initiatives in counties that contain a colonia.
89	89	(b) The strategic investment initiatives recommended shall
90	90	be identified using criteria that include the following:
91	91	(1) whether the initiative recommended is the most
92	92	significant investment the state can make in a key regional cluster
93	93	to produce a sound foundation for economic development;
94	94	(2) whether the investment recommended leverages
95	95	other significant funds or has an objective and calculable rate of
96	96	return;
97	97	(3) whether the recommendation is a clearly defined
98	98	concept with significant regional support;
99	99	(4) whether the concept recommended requires special
100	100	investment in order to be accomplished in the near future because
101	101	similar and timely funding by local, state, or federal sources in
102	102	the normal appropriations process is unlikely; and
103	103	(5) whether the investment recommended will increase
104	104	the per capita income and decrease the unemployment rate of the
105	105	affected area.
106	106	Sec. 481.304. REPORT. (a) Not later than December 1 of each
107	107	even-numbered year, the commission shall file a report with the
108	108	legislature that states the strategic investment initiatives
109	109	recommended by the commission during the preceding two-year period
110	110	and identify the initiatives that received funding during the
111	111	preceding fiscal biennium. The report must include any
112	112	recommendations for legislative action the commission considers
113	113	appropriate to further the creation or function of the commission.
114	114	(b) For the recommended initiatives that received funding
115	115	during the biennium in which the report is submitted, the
116	116	commission shall evaluate each initiative according to performance
117	117	measures identified by the commission and the following performance
118	118	measures:
119	119	(1) the number of jobs created by the initiative and
120	120	the nature of economic development created by the initiative;
121	121	(2) the impact of any economic development on wage
122	122	rates in any affected metropolitan statistical area;
123	123	(3) the wages and benefits paid by employers of the
124	124	created jobs compared to the countywide average wage for the
125	125	particular industry sector that received funding;
126	126	(4) the other funds that were leveraged or the
127	127	calculable rate of return from the state's investment in a
128	128	particular initiative;
129	129	(5) the initiative's ability to attract new industry
130	130	and economic development to counties that contain a colonia; and
131	131	(6) the duration and quality of the jobs, economic
132	132	development, and opportunities created.
133	133	Sec. 481.305. FUNDING; GIFTS AND GRANTS. (a) In addition
134	134	to any amount appropriated by the legislature, the commission may
135	135	request state agencies to apply for available funds from the
136	136	federal government or any other public or private entity. The
137	137	commission may also solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations
138	138	from private sources on the state's behalf. The use of a gift,
139	139	grant, or donation solicited under this section must be consistent
140	140	with the purposes of the commission.
141	141	(b) The commission shall review and may require reports of
142	142	state agencies that receive appropriations, gifts, grants,
143	143	donations, funds, or endowments as a result of the commission's
144	144	recommendations.
145	145	(c) The commission may also study counties classified by the
146	146	federal government as persistent poverty counties to determine
147	147	strategic development needs and opportunities.
148	148	SECTION 4. Chapter 775, Government Code, is amended by
149	149	adding Section 775.006 to read as follows:
150	150	Sec. 775.006. ADOPTION OF RULES WITH ADVERSE ECONOMIC
151	151	EFFECT. (a) In this section, "colonia" has the meaning assigned by
152	152	Section 5.1781, Water Code.
153	153	(b) An agency considering adoption of a rule that may have
154	154	an adverse economic effect on businesses in a county that contains a
155	155	colonia shall reduce that effect if legal and feasible, considering
156	156	the purpose of the statute under which the rule is to be adopted.
157	157	(c) To reduce an adverse effect on those businesses, an
158	158	agency may:
159	159	(1) establish separate compliance or reporting
160	160	requirements for businesses in a county that contains a colonia;
161	161	(2) use performance standards in place of design
162	162	standards for businesses in a county that contains a colonia; or
163	163	(3) exempt businesses in a county that contains a
164	164	colonia from all or part of the rule.
165	165	(d) Before adopting a rule that may have an adverse economic
166	166	effect on businesses in a county that contains a colonia, an agency
167	167	shall prepare:
168	168	(1) an economic impact statement that estimates the
169	169	number of those businesses subject to the proposed rule, projects
170	170	the economic impact of the rule on those businesses, and describes
171	171	alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed rule;
172	172	and
173	173	(2) a regulatory flexibility analysis that includes
174	174	the agency's consideration of alternative methods of achieving the
175	175	purpose of the proposed rule.
176	176	(e) The analysis prepared under Subsection (d)(2) must
177	177	consider, if consistent with the health, safety, and environmental
178	178	and economic welfare of the state, the use of regulatory methods
179	179	that will accomplish the objectives of applicable rules while
180	180	minimizing adverse impacts on businesses in a county that contains
181	181	a colonia. The agency must include in the analysis several proposed
182	182	methods of reducing the adverse impact of a proposed rule on those
183	183	businesses.
184	184	(f) The agency shall include the economic impact statement
185	185	and regulatory flexibility analysis as part of the notice of the
186	186	proposed rule that the agency files with the secretary of state for
187	187	publication in the Texas Register and shall provide copies to the
188	188	standing committee of each house of the legislature that is charged
189	189	with reviewing the proposed rule.
190	190	(g) This section does not apply to a rule adopted under
191	191	Title 2, Tax Code.
192	192	(h) The attorney general, in consultation with the
193	193	comptroller, shall prepare guidelines to assist an agency:
194	194	(1) in determining a proposed rule's potential adverse
195	195	economic effects on businesses in a county that contains a colonia;
196	196	and
197	197	(2) in identifying and evaluating alternative methods
198	198	of achieving the purpose of a proposed rule.
199	199	SECTION 5. Section 2303.406(d), Government Code, is amended
200	200	to read as follows:
201	201	(d) The maximum number of enterprise projects that the bank
202	202	may designate for each nominating body during any biennium is:
203	203	(1) four, plus two additional bonus projects the bank
204	204	may award in a municipality or county with a population of less than
205	205	250,000 and four additional bonus projects the bank may award in a
206	206	municipality or county that contains a colonia, as defined by
207	207	Section 5.1781, Water Code; or
208	208	(2) six, if the nominating body is the governing body
209	209	of a municipality or county with a population of 250,000 or more,
210	210	plus four additional bonus projects in such a municipality or
211	211	county that contains a colonia, as defined by Section 5.1781, Water
212	212	Code.
213	213	SECTION 6. Section 301.171, Labor Code, is amended to read
214	214	as follows:
215	215	Sec. 301.171. COOPERATION WITH TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AND
216	216	HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD TO IMPROVE ADULT EDUCATION AND
217	217	LITERACY SERVICES. The commission shall:
218	218	(1) collaborate with the Texas Education Agency and
219	219	the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to improve the
220	220	coordination and implementation of adult education and literacy
221	221	services in this state; and
222	222	(2) develop, in coordination with the Texas Education
223	223	Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, literacy
224	224	services with a focus on professional, vocational, and workforce
225	225	skill development.
226	226	SECTION 7. Subchapter J, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is
227	227	amended by adding Section 301.172 to read as follows:
228	228	Sec. 301.172. FEDERAL LITERACY PROGRAMS. The commission
229	229	shall:
230	230	(1) identify opportunities for federal funding of
231	231	adult education and literacy programs, including waivers to federal
232	232	requirements and restrictions; and
233	233	(2) apply for available waivers to the Workforce
234	234	Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Section 2801 et seq.), or other
235	235	federal programs, to transfer funds between adult, youth, and
236	236	dislocated worker programs if:
237	237	(A) the commission determines that a waiver would
238	238	benefit literacy programs;
239	239	(B) a local workforce development board requests
240	240	in writing that the commission apply for the waiver; and
241	241	(C) the county to which the waiver applies
242	242	contains a colonia, as defined by Section 5.1781, Water Code.
243	243	SECTION 8. Section 303.003(f), Labor Code, is amended to
244	244	read as follows:
245	245	(f) The Texas Engineering Extension Service shall focus the
246	246	service's training activities under this chapter on programs that:
247	247	(1) are statewide in nature; [or]
248	248	(2) are not available from a local junior college
249	249	district, a local technical college, or a consortium of junior
250	250	college districts; or
251	251	(3) are offered in a county that contains a colonia.
252	252	SECTION 9. This Act controls over any conflicting
253	253	provisions of law.
254	254	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
255	255	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
256	256	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
257	257	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
258	258	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.