By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 455
(Minjarez)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operations of the Employment-First Task Force.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 531.02448(b), (f), (g), and (j),
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(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) three representatives [a representative] of the
commission, one of whom represents the commission's behavioral
health services functions and one of whom represents the
commission's aging and disability services functions;
(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;
(5) two representatives [(8) a representative] of
the Texas Workforce Commission, one of whom represents the Texas
Workforce Commission's assistive and rehabilitative services
functions;
(6) [(9)] a representative of the Texas Education
Agency;
(7) [(10)] an advocate for individuals with
disabilities;
(8) [(11)] a representative of a provider of
integrated and competitive employment services; and
(9) [(12)] an employer or a representative of an
employer in an industry in which individuals with disabilities
might be employed.
(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 to provide guidance and assistance to a state agency in
implementing those changes;
(2-a) meet at least quarterly and at other times at the
call of the presiding officer; 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)(7) [(b)(10)],
(8) [(11)], or (9) [(12)] 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.
(j) A task force established under this section is abolished
and this [This] section expires September 1, 2021 [2017].
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect August 31, 2017.