81R6451 ALB-F
By: Strama, Anchia H.B. No. 516
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 516:
By: Strama C.S.H.B. No. 516
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment and funding of a green job skills
training program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 481.078, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
(l) The fund may be used to make one or more grants to the
Texas Workforce Commission to implement the commission's powers and
duties relating to a green job skills training program.
Subsections (e-1), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) do not apply to a
grant under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Subtitle F, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 490D to read as follows:
CHAPTER 490D. GREEN JOB SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FUND AND TRAINING
PROGRAM
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 490D.001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to:
(1) promote green industry employment opportunities,
including through the establishment of training programs to enhance
green job skills and create career opportunities that result in
high-wage jobs;
(2) foster regional collaboration for the development
of green industry employment opportunities;
(3) assist in the development of a highly skilled,
high-wage, and productive workforce in the green industry; and
(4) assist workers with obtaining education, skills
training, and labor market information to enhance their
employability, earnings, and standard of living.
Sec. 490D.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(2) "Development fund" means the Texas green job
skills development fund.
(3) "Green job" means a job in the field of renewable
energy or energy efficiency, including a job relating to:
(A) energy-efficient building, construction, and
retrofitting;
(B) renewable energy, including biomass,
hydroelectric, geothermal, and ocean energy, and wind and solar
power;
(C) research and development or manufacturing of
advanced battery or energy storage technologies;
(D) biofuels from non-feed food stocks;
(E) techniques to reduce, reuse, or recycle
waste;
(F) techniques to recycle products and convert
used materials into new products;
(G) energy efficiency assessments;
(H) manufacturing of sustainable products using
sustainable processes and materials; and
(I) water conservation and water efficiency.
(4) "Recycle" means the process of extracting
resources or value from waste by recovering or reusing the
material, including the collection and reuse of everyday waste
materials.
[Sections 490D.003-490D.020 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. GREEN JOB SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FUND
Sec. 490D.021. TEXAS GREEN JOB SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FUND.
(a) The Texas green job skills development fund is an account in
the general revenue fund. The account is composed of:
(1) legislative appropriations;
(2) money received from the Texas enterprise fund
under Section 481.078;
(3) gifts, grants, donations, and matching funds
received under Subsection (b); and
(4) other money required by law to be deposited in the
account.
(b) The commission may solicit and accept gifts, grants,
and donations of money from the federal government, local
governments, private corporations, or other persons to be used for
the purposes of this subchapter.
(c) Income from money in the account shall be credited to
the account.
(d) Money in the development fund may be used only for the
purposes of this chapter.
[Sections 490D.022-490D.030 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. GREEN JOB SKILLS GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 490D.031. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREEN JOB SKILLS GRANT
PROGRAM. The commission shall establish a green job skills grant
program, funded by the development fund under Section 490D.021,
through which the commission may award grants for the
implementation, expansion, and operation of green job skills
training programs.
Sec. 490D.032. GRANT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. (a) A training
program funded through a grant awarded under this subchapter must:
(1) be hosted by a regional partnership that presents
a plan to implement training programs that lead trainees to
economic self-sufficiency and career pathways and includes at
least:
(A) one university, college, technical school,
or other nonprofit workforce training provider;
(B) one chamber of commerce, local workforce
agency, local employer, or other public or private participating
entity;
(C) one economic development authority; and
(D) one community or faith-based nonprofit
organization that works with one or more targeted populations;
(2) assist an eligible individual in obtaining
education, skills training, and labor market information to enhance
the individual's employability in green industries; and
(3) assist in the development of a highly skilled and
productive workforce in green industries.
(b) A training program awarded a grant under this subchapter
shall target a population of eligible individuals for training that
includes:
(1) workers in high-demand green industries who are in
or preparing for high-wage occupations;
(2) workers in declining industries who may be
retrained for high-wage occupations in a high-demand green
industry;
(3) agriculture, timber, or energy sector workers who
may be retrained for high-wage occupations in a high-demand green
industry;
(4) veterans or past or present members of the armed
forces of the United States, including the state military forces,
or a reserve component of the armed forces or the national guard;
(5) unemployed workers;
(6) low-income workers, unemployed youth and adults,
individuals who did not complete high school, or other underserved
sectors of the workforce in high poverty areas; or
(7) individuals otherwise determined by the
commission to be disadvantaged and in need of training to obtain
employment.
(c) A training program may receive funding under this
chapter for a period not to exceed three years.
(d) A training program may use grant funds for support
services, including basic skills, literacy, GED, English as a
second language, and job readiness training, career guidance, and
referral services.
(e) A percentage of the grant, to be determined by the
commission, must be devoted to administrative costs, costs related
to hiring instructors and purchasing equipment, and tuition
assistance.
Sec. 490D.033. APPLICATION. (a) A regional partnership,
as described by Section 490D.032, may apply for a grant under this
subchapter in the manner prescribed by the commission.
(b) The grant application must require the applicant to
provide to the commission the applicant's plan to continue to
operate the training program after the grant expires.
Sec. 490D.034. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN AWARDING
GRANTS. (a) In addition to the factors described by Sections
490D.032 and 490D.033, in determining whether to award a grant to an
applicant under this subchapter, the commission shall give
preference to a training program that:
(1) provides certification and a career advancement
mechanism to a worker who receives green job skills training under
the program; and
(2) leverages additional public and private resources
to fund the program, including cash or in-kind matches.
(b) Grants shall be awarded in a manner that ensures
geographic diversity.
Sec. 490D.035. RESERVATION FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS. Twenty
percent of the funds available for grant programs under this
chapter must be reserved for job skills training programs that
serve the unemployed and individuals whose incomes are at or below
200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Sec. 490D.036. REPORT. (a) Not later than the 30th day
after the date funding for a grant under this chapter ends, the
grant recipient shall submit a report to the commission that
contains the following information:
(1) the number of participants who entered the
program;
(2) the demographics of the participants, including
race, gender, age, and significant barriers to education such as
limited English proficiency, a criminal record, or a physical or
mental disability;
(3) services received by participants, including
training, education, and support services;
(4) the amount of program spending per participant;
(5) program completion rates;
(6) factors determined to interfere significantly
with program participation or completion;
(7) the average wage at placement, including benefits,
and the rate of average wage increases after one year; and
(8) any post-employment support services provided.
(b) Not later than October 1 of each even-numbered year, the
commission shall submit a report to the governor, the lieutenant
governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives that
includes a summary of all information submitted under Subsection
(a).
Sec. 490D.037. STANDARDS. The commission by rule shall
adopt standards for a green job skills training program awarded a
grant under this subchapter.
SECTION 3. The Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules
for the program under Subchapter C, Chapter 490D, Government Code,
as added by this Act, not later than March 1, 2010.
SECTION 4. Implementation of the program under Subchapter
C, Chapter 490D, Government Code, as added by this Act, is
contingent on appropriation of funding by the legislature.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.