Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2341 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		84R19450 ADM-D
2	2		By: Darby, Parker, Murphy, H.B. No. 2341
3	3		Thompson of Harris, Ashby
4		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2341:
5		-	By: Springer C.S.H.B. No. 2341
6	4
7	5
8	6		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	7		AN ACT
10	8		relating to the retention and use of sales tax revenue collected by
11	9		certain retailers to provide job training and placement services to
12	10		certain persons; adding provisions subject to a criminal penalty.
13	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	12		SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is amended
15	13		by adding Section 151.433 to read as follows:
16	14		Sec. 151.433. USE OF SALES TAX COLLECTIONS FOR JOB TRAINING
17	15		AND PLACEMENT. (a) In this section:
18	16		(1) "Qualifying organization" means a retailer
19	17		certified by the comptroller under Subsection (b).
20	18		(2) "Workforce training community center" means a
21	19		retailer that:
22	20		(A) is exempt from the payment of federal income
23	21		taxes under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being
24	22		listed as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of that
25	23		code;
26	24		(B) collects and remits to the comptroller sales
27	25		taxes imposed on the sale of donated goods;
28	26		(C) has significant experience in assisting
29	27		persons with a disability or other barriers to employment with job
30	28		training and placement services and uses a portion of its revenue to
31	29		provide those services;
32	30		(D) is affiliated with a national or statewide
33	31		organization; and
34	32		(E) has annual sales of at least $1 million.
35	33		(b) A retailer may apply to the comptroller for
36	34		certification as a qualifying organization under this section. If
37	35		the comptroller determines that the applicant meets the
38	36		requirements to be a workforce training community center, the
39	37		comptroller shall certify the applicant as a qualifying
40	38		organization.
41	39		(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a qualifying
42	40		organization is not required to remit to the comptroller and may
43	41		retain 50 percent of the sales taxes imposed under this chapter and
44	42		collected by the organization on sales during the period in which
45	43		the qualifying organization holds a certification under Subsection
46	44		(b). The qualifying organization must show the amount retained on a
47	45		tax report required by this chapter in addition to the information
48	46		required by Section 151.406.
49	47		(d) A qualifying organization shall continue to remit to the
50	48		comptroller sales taxes imposed by a political subdivision of this
51	49		state and collected on sales with respect to which the qualifying
52	50		organization retains sales taxes as authorized by Subsection (c).
53	51		(e) The reimbursement authorized by Section 151.423 and the
54	52		deduction authorized by Section 151.424 do not apply with respect
55	53		to the amount of sales taxes retained as authorized by Subsection
56	54		(c).
57	55		(f) Except as provided by Subsection (g), a qualifying
58	56		organization shall use money retained as authorized by Subsection
59	57		(c) only to:
60	58		(1) provide a variety of job training and placement
61	59		services to persons with a disability or other barriers to
62	60		employment, including low educational attainment, a criminal
63	61		record, homelessness, and veteran status;
64	62		(2) develop an individualized written training and
65	63		employment plan for each person assisted to ensure appropriate and
66	64		successful job placement; and
67	65		(3) monitor job retention for each person placed for
68	66		the first 90 days of employment and provide additional services as
69	67		needed to support job retention or acquisition of a different job.
70	68		(g) In its first year of certification, a qualifying
71	69		organization may use money retained as authorized by Subsection (c)
72	70		to improve its infrastructure and otherwise prepare to provide
73	71		services described by Subsection (f). This subsection does not
74	72		apply to the period after a qualifying organization's certification
75	73		is renewed under Subsection (m).
76	74		(h) After the period described by Subsection (g), for every
77	75		$10,000 in sales tax collections retained under this section a
78	76		qualifying organization:
79	77		(1) shall provide job training and placement services
80	78		to at least three persons, including services related to
81	79		job-seeking skills and vocational skills training, job placement,
82	80		job coaching, and post-employment support; and
83	81		(2) must successfully place an average of at least
84	82		2.25 persons in jobs.
85	83		(i) Subject to Subsection (j), a retailer that is certified
86	84		as a qualifying organization retains that certification until the
87	85		third anniversary of the date of certification. At any time after
88	86		the period described by Subsection (g) during the certification
89	87		period, the comptroller may, and at the conclusion of the
90	88		certification period the comptroller shall, require the qualifying
91	89		organization to demonstrate, in a manner prescribed by the
92	90		comptroller, that the qualifying organization:
93	91		(1) has not used any tax collections retained under
94	92		this section for a purpose other than a purpose described by
95	93		Subsection (f) after the first year of certification; and
96	94		(2) is successfully meeting or has successfully met,
97	95		as applicable, the requirements described by Subsection (h).
98	96		(j) The comptroller, after written notice and a hearing, may
99	97		revoke a certification issued to a retailer that fails to comply
100	98		with this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter. A retailer
101	99		whose certification the comptroller proposes to revoke under this
102	100		section is entitled to 20 days' written notice of the time and place
103	101		of the hearing on the revocation. The notice must state the reason
104	102		the comptroller is seeking to revoke the retailer's certification.
105	103		At the hearing the retailer must show cause why the retailer's
106	104		certification should not be revoked.
107	105		(k) The comptroller shall give written notice of the
108	106		revocation of a certification under Subsection (j) to the retailer
109	107		that was certified under this section. The notice may be sent by
110	108		mail to the retailer's address as shown in the comptroller's
111	109		records.
112	110		(l) The comptroller shall require an organization whose
113	111		certification was revoked under Subsection (j) to remit an amount
114	112		of tax collections retained under this section in the comptroller's
115	113		discretion, but not to exceed $3,333 per person not successfully
116	114		placed in a job in accordance with Subsection (h)(2).
117	115		(m) A retailer that is certified as a qualifying
118	116		organization may apply to renew the certification. The comptroller
119	117		may renew a retailer's certification only if the retailer has
120	118		complied with all requirements during the applicant's
121	119		certification period and with any other requirements for renewal as
122	120		prescribed by rules adopted by the comptroller.
123	121		SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act does not
124	122		affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of this
125	123		Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been
126	124		enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the
127	125		collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of
128	126		the liability for those taxes.
129	127		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.