By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1226
(In the Senate - Filed March 6, 2013; March 13, 2013, read
first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
April 8, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 8, 2013,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1226 By: Zaffirini
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of an employment-first policy and
task force to promote competitive employment opportunities that
provide a living wage for individuals with disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 531.02447 and 531.02448 to read as
follows:
Sec. 531.02447. EMPLOYMENT-FIRST POLICY. (a) It is the
policy of the state that earning a living wage through competitive
employment in the general workforce is the priority and preferred
outcome for working-age individuals with disabilities who receive
public benefits.
(b) The commission, the Texas Education Agency, and the
Texas Workforce Commission shall jointly adopt and implement an
employment-first policy in accordance with the state's policy under
Subsection (a). The policy must:
(1) affirm that an individual with a disability is
able to meet the same employment standards as an individual who does
not have a disability;
(2) ensure that all working-age individuals with
disabilities, including young adults, are offered factual
information regarding employment as an individual with a
disability, including the relationship between an individual's
earned income and the individual's public benefits;
(3) ensure that individuals with disabilities are
given the opportunity to understand and explore options for
education or training, including postsecondary, graduate, and
postgraduate education, vocational or technical training, or other
training, as pathways to employment;
(4) promote the availability and accessibility of
individualized training designed to prepare an individual with a
disability for the individual's preferred employment;
(5) promote partnerships with employers to overcome
barriers to meeting workforce needs with the creative use of
technology and innovation;
(6) ensure that the staff of public schools,
vocational service programs, and community providers are trained
and supported to assist in achieving the goal of competitive
employment for all individuals with disabilities; and
(7) ensure that competitive employment, while being
the priority and preferred outcome, is not required of an
individual with a disability to secure or maintain public benefits
for which the individual is otherwise eligible.
Sec. 531.02448. EMPLOYMENT-FIRST TASK FORCE. (a) The
executive commissioner shall establish an interagency
employment-first task force, or may use an existing committee or
task force, to promote competitive employment of individuals with
disabilities and the expectation that individuals with
disabilities are able to meet the same employment standards,
responsibilities, and expectations as any other working-age adult.
(b) If the executive commissioner establishes a task force
for the purposes described by Subsection (a), the executive
commissioner shall determine the number of members on the task
force. The executive commissioner shall appoint at least the
following as members, subject to Subsection (e):
(1) an individual with a disability;
(2) a family member of an individual with a
disability;
(3) a representative of the commission;
(4) a representative of the Department of Assistive
and Rehabilitative Services;
(5) a representative of the Department of State Health
Services;
(6) a representative of the Department of Aging and
Disability Services;
(7) a representative of the Department of Family and
Protective Services;
(8) a representative of the Texas Workforce
Commission;
(9) a representative of the Texas Education Agency;
(10) an advocate for individuals with disabilities;
and
(11) a representative of a provider of integrated and
competitive employment services.
(c) A member of a task force established under this section
serves at the will of the executive commissioner.
(d) The executive commissioner shall designate a member of a
task force established under this section to serve as presiding
officer.
(e) At least one-third of a task force established under
this section must be composed of individuals with disabilities, and
no more than one-third of the task force may be composed of
advocates for individuals with disabilities.
(f) A task force established under this section or an
existing committee or task force used for purposes of this section
shall:
(1) design an education and outreach process targeted
at working-age individuals with disabilities, including young
adults with disabilities, the families of those individuals, the
state agencies listed in Subsection (b), and service providers,
that is aimed at raising expectations of the success of individuals
with disabilities in integrated, individualized, and competitive
employment;
(2) develop recommendations for policy, procedure,
and rules changes that are necessary to allow the employment-first
policy described under Section 531.02447(b) to be fully
implemented; and
(3) not later than September 1 of each even-numbered
year, prepare and submit to the office of the governor, the
legislature, and the executive commissioner a report regarding the
task force's findings and recommendations, including:
(A) information that reflects the potential and
actual impact of the employment-first policy on the employment
outcomes for individuals with disabilities; and
(B) recommendations for improvement of
employment services and outcomes, including employment rates, for
individuals with disabilities based on the reported impact of an
employment-first policy under Paragraph (A) that may include:
(i) recommendations relating to using any
savings to the state resulting from the implementation of the
employment-first policy to further improve the services and
outcomes; and
(ii) recommendations developed under
Subdivision (2) regarding necessary policy, procedure, and rules
changes.
(g) A member of a task force established under this section
is not entitled to compensation. Members may be reimbursed for
expenses as follows:
(1) a member described by Subsection (b)(1) or (2) is
entitled to reimbursement for travel and other necessary expenses
as provided in the General Appropriations Act;
(2) a member appointed as a representative of a state
agency is eligible for reimbursement for travel and other necessary
expenses according to the applicable agency's policies; and
(3) a member described by Subsection (b)(10) or (11)
is entitled to reimbursement for travel and other necessary
expenses to be paid equally out of available money appropriated to
the commission and to health and human services agencies.
(h) The commission and the health and human services
agencies shall provide administrative support and staff to a task
force established under this section.
(i) The executive commissioner, the commissioner of
education, and the Texas Workforce Commission shall evaluate
recommendations made by a task force or committee under this
section and adopt rules as necessary that are consistent with the
employment-first policy adopted under Section 531.02447.
(j) This section expires September 1, 2017.
SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2014, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
appoint the members of the employment-first task force under
Section 531.02448, Government Code, as added by this Act, if the
executive commissioner establishes a task force under that section.
SECTION 3. 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, 2013.
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