Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB275 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Watson, et al. S.B. No. 275
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed December 7, 2016; January 30, 2017,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
4	4	April 4, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 5; April 4, 2017,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 275 By: Watson
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to the retention and use of sales tax revenue collected by
14	14	certain retailers to provide job training and placement services to
15	15	certain persons.
16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
17	17	SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is amended
18	18	by adding Section 151.433 to read as follows:
19	19	Sec. 151.433. USE OF SALES TAX COLLECTIONS FOR JOB TRAINING
20	20	AND PLACEMENT. (a) In this section:
21	21	(1) "Qualifying organization" means a retailer
22	22	certified by the comptroller under Subsection (b).
23	23	(2) "Workforce training community center" means a
24	24	retailer that:
25	25	(A) is exempt from the payment of federal income
26	26	taxes under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being
27	27	listed as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of that
28	28	code;
29	29	(B) collects and remits to the comptroller sales
30	30	taxes imposed on the sale of donated goods;
31	31	(C) has experience in assisting persons with a
32	32	disability or other barriers to employment with job training and
33	33	placement services and uses a portion of its revenue to provide
34	34	those services; and
35	35	(D) has annual sales of at least $1 million.
36	36	(b) A retailer may apply to the comptroller for
37	37	certification as a qualifying organization under this section. If
38	38	the comptroller determines that the applicant meets the
39	39	requirements to be a workforce training community center, the
40	40	comptroller shall certify the applicant as a qualifying
41	41	organization.
42	42	(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a qualifying
43	43	organization is not required to remit to the comptroller and may
44	44	retain:
45	45	(1) the lesser of 30 percent or $1 million of the sales
46	46	taxes imposed under this chapter and collected by the organization
47	47	on sales during its first year of certification as a qualifying
48	48	organization; and
49	49	(2) the lesser of 50 percent or $1 million of the sales
50	50	taxes imposed under this chapter and collected by the organization
51	51	on sales during each subsequent year of the remaining period in
52	52	which the qualifying organization holds that certification,
53	53	including a renewal certification.
54	54	(d) A qualifying organization must show the amount of sales
55	55	taxes retained as authorized by Subsection (c) on a tax report
56	56	required by this chapter in addition to the information required by
57	57	Section 151.406.
58	58	(e) A qualifying organization shall continue to remit to the
59	59	comptroller sales taxes imposed by a political subdivision of this
60	60	state and collected on sales with respect to which the qualifying
61	61	organization retains sales taxes as authorized by Subsection (c).
62	62	(f) The reimbursement authorized by Section 151.423 and the
63	63	deduction authorized by Section 151.424 do not apply with respect
64	64	to the amount of sales taxes retained as authorized by Subsection
65	65	(c).
66	66	(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), a qualifying
67	67	organization shall use money retained as authorized by Subsection
68	68	(c) only to:
69	69	(1) provide a variety of job training and placement
70	70	services to persons with a disability or other barriers to
71	71	employment, including low educational attainment, a criminal
72	72	record, homelessness, and status as a veteran;
73	73	(2) develop an individualized written training and
74	74	employment plan for each person assisted to ensure appropriate and
75	75	successful job placement; and
76	76	(3) monitor job retention for each person placed for
77	77	the first 90 days of employment and provide additional services as
78	78	needed to support job retention or acquisition of a different job.
79	79	(h) In its first year of certification, a qualifying
80	80	organization may use money retained as authorized by Subsection (c)
81	81	to improve its infrastructure and otherwise prepare to provide
82	82	services described by Subsection (g). This subsection does not
83	83	apply to the period after a qualifying organization's certification
84	84	is renewed under Subsection (n).
85	85	(i) After the period described by Subsection (h), for every
86	86	$10,000 in sales tax collections retained under this section a
87	87	qualifying organization:
88	88	(1) shall provide job training and placement services
89	89	to at least three persons, including services related to
90	90	job-seeking skills and vocational skills training, job placement,
91	91	job coaching, and post-employment support; and
92	92	(2) must successfully place an average of at least
93	93	2.25 persons in jobs.
94	94	(j) Subject to Subsection (k), a retailer that is certified
95	95	as a qualifying organization retains that certification until the
96	96	third anniversary of the date of certification. At any time after
97	97	the period described by Subsection (h) during the certification
98	98	period, the comptroller may, and at the conclusion of the
99	99	certification period the comptroller shall, require the qualifying
100	100	organization to demonstrate, in a manner prescribed by the
101	101	comptroller, that the qualifying organization:
102	102	(1) has not used any tax collections retained under
103	103	this section for a purpose other than a purpose described by
104	104	Subsection (g) after the first year of certification; and
105	105	(2) is successfully meeting or has successfully met,
106	106	as applicable, the requirements described by Subsection (i).
107	107	(k) The comptroller, after written notice and a hearing, may
108	108	revoke a certification issued to a retailer that fails to comply
109	109	with this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter. A retailer
110	110	whose certification the comptroller proposes to revoke under this
111	111	section is entitled to 20 days' written notice of the time and place
112	112	of the hearing on the revocation. The notice must state the reason
113	113	the comptroller is seeking to revoke the retailer's certification.
114	114	At the hearing the retailer must show cause why the retailer's
115	115	certification should not be revoked.
116	116	(l) The comptroller shall give written notice of the
117	117	revocation of a certification under Subsection (k) to the retailer
118	118	that was certified under this section. The notice may be sent by
119	119	mail to the retailer's address as shown in the comptroller's
120	120	records.
121	121	(m) The comptroller shall require an organization whose
122	122	certification was revoked under Subsection (k) to remit an amount
123	123	of tax collections retained under this section in the comptroller's
124	124	discretion, but not to exceed $3,333 per person not successfully
125	125	placed in a job in accordance with Subsection (i)(2).
126	126	(n) A retailer that is certified as a qualifying
127	127	organization may apply to renew the certification. The comptroller
128	128	may renew a retailer's certification only if the retailer has
129	129	complied with all requirements during the applicant's
130	130	certification period and with any other requirements for renewal as
131	131	prescribed by rules adopted by the comptroller.
132	132	(o) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the comptroller may not
133	133	certify a retailer as a qualifying organization under that
134	134	subsection before September 1, 2019. The authorization to retain
135	135	sales taxes provided by Subsection (c) applies only to sales taxes
136	136	imposed under this chapter and collected by a qualifying
137	137	organization on or after September 1, 2019. This subsection
138	138	expires January 1, 2020.
139	139	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act does not
140	140	affect tax liability accruing before September 1, 2019. That
141	141	liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been enacted,
142	142	and the former law is continued in effect for the collection of
143	143	taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of the liability
144	144	for those taxes.
145	145	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2018.
146	146	* * * * *