Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1724 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	86R7921 SOS-D
2	2	By: Campbell S.B. No. 1724
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to certain public school workforce training programs
8	8	funded by the skills development fund.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 303.001(a), Labor Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) The purpose of this chapter is to remove administrative
13	13	barriers that impede the response of school districts and
14	14	open-enrollment charter schools described by Section 303.003(b-3),
15	15	public community and technical colleges, community-based
16	16	organizations, and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to
17	17	industry and workforce training needs and to develop incentives for
18	18	those entities [public community and technical colleges,
19	19	community-based organizations, and the Texas Engineering Extension
20	20	Service] to provide customized assessment and training in a timely
21	21	and efficient manner.
22	22	SECTION 2. Section 303.001(b), Labor Code, is amended by
23	23	adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
24	24	(3) "Open-enrollment charter school" has the meaning
25	25	assigned by Section 5.001, Education Code.
26	26	SECTION 3. Section 303.002, Labor Code, is amended to read
27	27	as follows:
28	28	Sec. 303.002. WAIVER; RECOVERY OF CERTAIN COSTS. (a) The
29	29	commission may review and recommend to the legislature the waiver
30	30	of any requirements set forth in the [Title 3,] Education Code, as
31	31	they may apply to a school district or open-enrollment charter
32	32	school described by Section 303.003(b-3) or public community and
33	33	technical college [colleges], that impede the ability of the
34	34	district, school, or [such a] college to develop in a timely manner
35	35	customized training for demand occupations in particular
36	36	industries, including statutes or regulations limiting costs that
37	37	may be recovered from state funds by the district, school, or [a
38	38	public community or technical] college [from state funds].
39	39	(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
40	40	described by Section 303.003(b-3), a public community or technical
41	41	college, or the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service may recover
42	42	customized assessment and training costs incurred by the district,
43	43	school, college, or service [institution] if:
44	44	(1) there is an actual or projected labor shortage in
45	45	the occupation in which training is provided that is not being met
46	46	by an existing institution or program in the area; and
47	47	(2) the wages at the time of job placement for
48	48	individuals who successfully complete customized training at the
49	49	district, school, [public community or technical] college, or
50	50	service [the Texas Engineering Extension Service] are equal to the
51	51	prevailing wage for that occupation in the local labor market area.
52	52	SECTION 4. Section 303.003, Labor Code, is amended by
53	53	amending Subsections (b), (b-1), (f), and (g) and adding Subsection
54	54	(b-3) to read as follows:
55	55	(b) The skills development fund may be used by school
56	56	districts and open-enrollment charter schools described by
57	57	Subsection (b-3), public community and technical colleges,
58	58	community-based organizations, and the Texas A&M Engineering
59	59	Extension Service as start-up or emergency funds for the following
60	60	job-training purposes:
61	61	(1) developing customized training programs for
62	62	businesses and trade unions; and
63	63	(2) sponsoring small and medium-sized business
64	64	networks and consortiums.
65	65	(b-1) The commission by rule may establish and develop
66	66	additional job incentive programs that use the skills development
67	67	fund to create incentives for school districts and open-enrollment
68	68	charter schools described by Subsection (b-3) or public community
69	69	and technical colleges in partnership with one or more employers,
70	70	including prospective employers who commit to establishing a place
71	71	of business in this state, to provide workforce training in an
72	72	effort to create and retain employment opportunities in this state.
73	73	Under a program established under this subsection, the commission
74	74	may commit money to a prospective employer described by this
75	75	subsection contingent on the employer's establishment of a place of
76	76	business in this state.
77	77	(b-3) In addition to the programs established under
78	78	Subsections (b), (b-1), and (b-2), the commission by rule shall
79	79	establish and develop additional programs using the skills
80	80	development fund under which a school district or open-enrollment
81	81	charter school that includes a high school that provides a career
82	82	and technology education program in which at least 35 percent of the
83	83	students at the high school are enrolled may provide through that
84	84	high school customized workforce training opportunities designed
85	85	specifically to meet regional emerging future industry and
86	86	workforce training needs identified by the commission for purposes
87	87	of this subsection. To participate in a program established under
88	88	this subsection, a school district or open-enrollment charter
89	89	school is not required to partner with one or more specific
90	90	employers or institutions of higher education.
91	91	(f) The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service shall focus
92	92	the service's training activities under this chapter on programs
93	93	that:
94	94	(1) are statewide in nature; or
95	95	(2) are not available from a school district or
96	96	open-enrollment charter school described by Subsection (b-3), a
97	97	local junior college district, a local technical college, or a
98	98	consortium of junior college districts.
99	99	(g) This section does not prohibit the Texas A&M Engineering
100	100	Extension Service from participating in a consortium of junior
101	101	college districts or with a school district or open-enrollment
102	102	charter school described by Subsection (b-3) or a technical college
103	103	that provides training under this chapter.
104	104	SECTION 5. Section 303.004, Labor Code, is amended to read
105	105	as follows:
106	106	Sec. 303.004. FUND REVIEW; REPORT BY CERTAIN WORKFORCE
107	107	TRAINING PROVIDERS REQUIRED. (a) The Texas Higher Education
108	108	Coordinating Board shall review all customized training programs
109	109	biennially to verify that state funds are being used appropriately
110	110	by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools described
111	111	by Section 303.003(b-3), public community and technical colleges,
112	112	and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service under this chapter.
113	113	The Texas Education Agency shall assist the Texas Higher Education
114	114	Coordinating Board as necessary in the board's review of a
115	115	customized training program provided by a high school of a school
116	116	district or open-enrollment charter school described by Section
117	117	303.003(b-3).
118	118	(b) Not later than October 1 of each even-numbered year,
119	119	each school district and each open-enrollment charter school
120	120	described by Section 303.003(b-3), the Texas A&M Engineering
121	121	Extension Service, and each public community or technical college
122	122	that provides workforce training under this chapter shall:
123	123	(1) conduct a review of the district's, school's,
124	124	service's, or college's training programs to:
125	125	(A) determine the effectiveness of the programs
126	126	in improving the wages of participants who complete the programs;
127	127	and
128	128	(B) identify strategies for improving the
129	129	delivery of workforce training in order to more effectively impact
130	130	economic development in this state; and
131	131	(2) submit to the commission a detailed written report
132	132	summarizing the results of the review for inclusion by the
133	133	executive director in the report to the governor and the
134	134	legislature required by Section 303.006(c).
135	135	(c) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
136	136	described by Section 303.003(b-3), the Texas A&M Engineering
137	137	Extension Service, or a public community or technical college fails
138	138	to submit a report required by Subsection (b)(2):
139	139	(1) the district, school, service, or college must
140	140	refund to the comptroller any unexpended state funds received by
141	141	the district, school, service, or college under this chapter for
142	142	the state fiscal biennium in which the report was due; and
143	143	(2) the commission may not award any additional grant
144	144	to the district, school, service, or college under this chapter
145	145	until the district, school, service, or college has complied with
146	146	that reporting requirement.
147	147	SECTION 6. Section 303.006(d), Labor Code, is amended to
148	148	read as follows:
149	149	(d) The annual report must include for that fiscal year:
150	150	(1) the total number of applications submitted, the
151	151	total number of applications approved, and the total number of
152	152	applications rejected by region of the state;
153	153	(2) the average and median weekly wage levels of
154	154	trainees under this chapter entering or returning to the workforce,
155	155	broken down by:
156	156	(A) current employees undergoing retraining;
157	157	(B) new hires; and
158	158	(C) region of the state;
159	159	(3) the average and median weekly wage levels of
160	160	trainees under this chapter entering or returning to the workforce,
161	161	broken down by region of the state;
162	162	(4) the number and percentage of trainees covered by
163	163	health care insurance coverage, workers' compensation insurance
164	164	coverage, and other analogous benefit programs;
165	165	(5) the total amount of money awarded in each region of
166	166	the state and the percentage that amount represents of the total
167	167	amount of money awarded on a statewide basis;
168	168	(6) a comparison of the percentage of total dollars
169	169	awarded to each region versus each region's percentage of:
170	170	(A) the state's population;
171	171	(B) the civilian labor force;
172	172	(C) the number of unemployed persons; and
173	173	(D) the number of qualified grant applications
174	174	submitted to the commission by school districts and open-enrollment
175	175	charter schools described by Section 303.003(b-3) and public
176	176	community and technical colleges;
177	177	(7) the total amount of money awarded to
178	178	micro-employers, small employers, medium employers, and large
179	179	employers, reported by region of the state; and
180	180	(8) the total number of jobs created or persons
181	181	retrained under the program:
182	182	(A) by region of the state;
183	183	(B) by occupation classified by the two-digit
184	184	standard industrial classification;
185	185	(C) by wage level; and
186	186	(D) whether attributable to:
187	187	(i) relocation of businesses to this state;
188	188	or
189	189	(ii) training or retraining of employees of
190	190	existing employers.
191	191	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.