Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HCR82 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hunter (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa) H.C.R. No. 82
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2013;
3	3	May 6, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Economic
4	4	Development; May 16, 2013, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 16, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
9	9	WHEREAS, Structural change in an increasingly global economy
10	10	has contributed to high unemployment and a decline in wages for
11	11	those without college degrees; and
12	12	WHEREAS, By 2011, a quarter of all young high school
13	13	graduates were unemployed and more than half were underemployed;
14	14	wages for those with only a high school diploma have fallen by 12
15	15	percent over the past decade to under $20,000 a year, below the
16	16	poverty threshold for a family of four; and
17	17	WHEREAS, While the job market has shrunk dramatically for
18	18	those with no education beyond high school, and college is out of
19	19	reach or inappropriate for many individuals, the workforce has
20	20	great demand in "middle jobs" that require no bachelor's degree but
21	21	necessitate education and training beyond high school, commonly
22	22	referred to as career and technical education or CTE; and
23	23	WHEREAS, A recent Georgetown University study found there are
24	24	at least 29 million middle jobs in such areas as nursing, sales, and
25	25	the trades, representing one in every five jobs and nearly half of
26	26	all middle-class jobs; the average annual wage for these positions
27	27	is $42,000, and more than 11 million of these jobs pay well above
28	28	$50,000 a year, including over four million that pay $75,000 or
29	29	more; and
30	30	WHEREAS, The share of high school students concentrating in
31	31	vocational studies has declined for decades, but the modern
32	32	equivalent of vocational programming, CTE, can provide career
33	33	exploration and curricula that align with postsecondary programs
34	34	and employer-based training; moreover, CTE encourages persistence
35	35	to high school graduation along with academic development and
36	36	stronger transitions to postsecondary education; at the
37	37	postsecondary level, CTE often results in an industry-based
38	38	certification, a postsecondary certificate, or an associate's
39	39	degree in a particular career or educational pathway; and
40	40	WHEREAS, Nearly two out of every three jobs will require some
41	41	postsecondary education and training by 2020, but the United States
42	42	currently lags behind other countries in linking postsecondary
43	43	education with the needs of the labor market; in order for Texas to
44	44	remedy this gap in the educational system, it is necessary to
45	45	explore such topics as curriculum requirements, opportunities for
46	46	new education-workforce partnerships, and the impact of emerging
47	47	industrial sectors; now, therefore, be it
48	48	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
49	49	hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
50	50	of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study
51	51	education policy as it relates to developing a skilled workforce;
52	52	and, be it further
53	53	RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be
54	54	governed by such general rules and policies for joint interim
55	55	committees as the 83rd Legislature may adopt.
56	56	* * * * *