Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1979 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Raney, Plesa, Bumgarner, Lopez of Bexar, H.B. No. 1979
2	2	et al.
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Workforce Commission
8	8	and local workforce development boards regarding the provision of
9	9	child care.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 2308.256(a), Government Code, is amended
12	12	to read as follows:
13	13	(a) A board is composed as follows:
14	14	(1) representatives of the private sector, who:
15	15	(A) constitute a majority of the membership of
16	16	the board; and
17	17	(B) are owners of business concerns, chief
18	18	executives or chief operating officers of nongovernmental
19	19	employers, or other private sector executives who have substantial
20	20	management or policy responsibilities, including owners or
21	21	operators of child-care businesses who must constitute not less
22	22	than 10 percent of private sector representatives on the board;
23	23	(2) representatives of organized labor and
24	24	community-based organizations, who constitute not less than 15
25	25	percent of the membership of the board; and
26	26	(3) representatives of each of the following:
27	27	(A) educational agencies, including community
28	28	colleges and secondary and postsecondary practitioners
29	29	representing vocational education, that are representative of all
30	30	educational agencies in the service delivery area;
31	31	(B) vocational rehabilitation agencies;
32	32	(C) public assistance agencies;
33	33	(D) economic development agencies;
34	34	(E) the public employment service;
35	35	(F) local literacy councils; [and]
36	36	(G) adult basic and continuing education
37	37	organizations; and
38	38	(H) the child-care workforce, including persons
39	39	with expertise in child care or early childhood education who are
40	40	not included in the representatives described by Subdivision
41	41	(1)(B).
42	42	SECTION 2. Section 2308.3171, Government Code, is amended
43	43	by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
44	44	follows:
45	45	(c) Each board shall post in a prominent place on the
46	46	board's Internet website home page and at any physical location
47	47	where the board provides services:
48	48	(1) a list of local designated vendors that are
49	49	child-care providers and have a quality child-care indicator listed
50	50	in Subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), or (4); [and]
51	51	(2) a list of local parenting classes;
52	52	(3) information for parents regarding finding quality
53	53	child-care providers;
54	54	(4) information regarding the value of quality child
55	55	care and the Texas Rising Star Program;
56	56	(5) information for parents regarding:
57	57	(A) eligibility for child-care assistance,
58	58	including subsidized child-care services and other child-care
59	59	scholarships;
60	60	(B) the application process for child-care
61	61	assistance; and
62	62	(C) determining the status of a financial
63	63	assistance application;
64	64	(6) information for child-care providers regarding:
65	65	(A) the process for accepting children whose
66	66	parents receive child-care assistance; and
67	67	(B) the Texas Rising Star Program certification
68	68	process; and
69	69	(7) contact information, including a telephone number
70	70	and an e-mail address, where a child-care provider may receive
71	71	assistance with questions or bring a grievance.
72	72	(c-1) Each local workforce development board shall make the
73	73	following information available to the public on a quarterly basis:
74	74	(1) data regarding child-care waitlists, including
75	75	the number of children in the board's workforce development area
76	76	who are:
77	77	(A) on a waitlist, disaggregated by age and zip
78	78	code based on the child's home address;
79	79	(B) taken off a waitlist and enrolled with a
80	80	child-care provider under the subsidized child-care program; and
81	81	(C) added to a waitlist during the quarter;
82	82	(2) the number of children in the board's workforce
83	83	development area receiving subsidized child care, disaggregated by
84	84	zip code based on the child's home address;
85	85	(3) data regarding child-care providers, including
86	86	the number of providers in the board's workforce development area
87	87	who during the quarter:
88	88	(A) improved the provider's Texas Rising Star
89	89	Program rating level;
90	90	(B) had the provider's Texas Rising Star Program
91	91	rating level decrease; and
92	92	(C) received quality dollars from the board; and
93	93	(4) data regarding the outcomes related to quality
94	94	dollars provided by the board to child-care providers in the
95	95	board's workforce development area.
96	96	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
97	97	amended by adding Section 302.00434 to read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 302.00434. SUBSIDIZED CHILD-CARE PROGRAM; RULE CHANGE
99	99	POLICY. (a) The commission shall develop appropriate training and
100	100	provide the training to local workforce development boards and
101	101	persons who contract with a board to provide services related to the
102	102	subsidized child-care program.
103	103	(b) The commission shall develop a reasonable timeline for
104	104	implementing each change the commission makes to:
105	105	(1) the rules regarding the subsidized child-care
106	106	program; and
107	107	(2) the allocation of funds under the subsidized
108	108	child-care program.
109	109	SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
110	110	amended by adding Section 302.0063 to read as follows:
111	111	Sec. 302.0063. CHILD-CARE PERFORMANCE TARGETS. (a) The
112	112	commission shall establish child-care performance targets in a
113	113	manner that accounts for cost differentials related to providing
114	114	child-care services to various populations. In setting the
115	115	performance targets, the commission shall consider:
116	116	(1) the total number of children served by child-care
117	117	providers in a board's workforce development area;
118	118	(2) the number of children served by Texas Rising Star
119	119	Program providers in a board's workforce development area with a
120	120	two-star, three-star, or four-star rating;
121	121	(3) the needs and ages of children served by
122	122	child-care providers in a board's workforce development area;
123	123	(4) the types of providers commonly selected by
124	124	parents in a board's workforce development area; and
125	125	(5) any other factors determined necessary by the
126	126	commission, including data-driven factors provided to the
127	127	commission by a board.
128	128	(b) The commission shall, at least once every six months
129	129	during the performance period, review the commission's child-care
130	130	performance targets and funding based on those targets and make
131	131	adjustments based on the cost differentials the commission used at
132	132	the time the performance targets were initially set.
133	133	SECTION 5. Section 2308.256(g), Government Code, is
134	134	repealed.
135	135	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.