By: Johnson of Dallas, Button, Buckley, Rose, H.B. No. 3771
Morrison, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the employer child-care contribution
partnership program administered by the Texas Workforce
Commission; authorizing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 319 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 319. EMPLOYER CHILD-CARE CONTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 319.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "program" means
the employer child-care contribution partnership program
established under this chapter.
Sec. 319.002. ESTABLISHMENT. The commission shall
establish and administer the employer child-care contribution
partnership program to support families in this state in accessing
high-quality child care by incentivizing eligible employers to
contribute to eligible employee child-care costs and providing a
state match for funds contributed by eligible employers.
Sec. 319.003. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The commission shall:
(1) adopt rules and establish procedures necessary to
administer the program, including:
(A) a standardized agreement for use by
employers, employees, and child-care providers to apply for and
enroll in the program;
(B) eligibility and income verification
procedures for employees;
(C) eligibility criteria for child-care
providers, including quality standards;
(D) procedures for notifying each party to the
agreement of:
(i) the results of an eligibility
determination; and
(ii) the party's enrollment in the program
as soon as practicable after receiving and processing the agreement
and determining each party's eligibility;
(E) procedures for determining the amount of the
state match in accordance with Section 319.009(b) and notifying the
employee and the child-care provider regarding the amount;
(F) procedures for prioritizing and approving
agreements, including maintaining a waitlist;
(G) procedures for notifying the commission and
the parties to the agreement regarding termination of the agreement
by any party;
(H) procedures for notifying the commission and
the parties to the agreement regarding nonpayment by any party;
(I) procedures for recouping state match money or
a portion of state match money if there is an overpayment to a
participating child-care provider;
(J) criteria for disqualifying participants from
the program;
(K) procedures for hearing appeals from program
participants;
(L) procedures for issuing and logging payments
to a participating child-care provider; and
(M) criteria and procedures for modifying or
terminating an agreement, including:
(i) if the relationship between the
employee and employer is severed;
(ii) if an employer fails to make a
contribution in accordance with the terms of the agreement; and
(iii) if a child-care provider ceases
participation or otherwise becomes ineligible to participate in the
program;
(2) ensure confidentiality protocols to safeguard the
personal information of participating employers, employees, and
child-care providers, including ensuring that an employee's
personal information is not disclosed without the employee's
written consent;
(3) maintain records regarding the balance of the
program fund for each fiscal year and all payments made from the
fund;
(4) develop informational material regarding the
program's objectives, benefits, and eligibility requirements and
distribute the material to employers, employees, and child-care
providers; and
(5) maintain a waitlist if the money in the program
fund is insufficient to approve all agreements received and provide
a state match in accordance with Section 319.009(b).
(a-1) The commission shall convene a work group to assist
the commission in developing the rules under Subsection (a). The
work group must include:
(1) child-care providers;
(2) community stakeholders;
(3) employers; and
(4) at least one parent of a child who receives care
from a child-care provider.
(a-2) Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire September
1, 2025.
(b) The commission may:
(1) delegate an administrative duty under the program
to a division of the commission;
(2) coordinate and share information with other state
agencies; and
(3) procure grants or contracts, in accordance with
other law, with third parties to administer the program or parts of
the program.
(c) The commission shall implement the program and issue a
state match under Section 319.009(b) in a state fiscal year only if
the legislature specifically appropriates money to the commission
for that fiscal year for that purpose. The commission may implement
the program and issue a state match using other money available to
the commission for that purpose.
Sec. 319.004. EMPLOYER DUTIES. An employer who provides
child-care assistance to an employee as a benefit of employment may
participate in the program by entering into an agreement described
by Section 319.007 with an eligible employee and child-care
provider. The employer shall:
(1) provide at least 20 percent of the cost of the
employee's child care as the employer contribution;
(2) enter into a standardized agreement under Section
319.007 with an eligible employee and child-care provider;
(3) submit the agreement to the commission for
verification of eligibility and approval;
(4) submit any additional information the commission
considers necessary; and
(5) on verification and approval of the agreement by
the commission, make contributions to the employee's eligible
child-care costs in accordance with commission guidelines.
Sec. 319.005. EMPLOYEE DUTIES. (a) An employee shall
complete an agreement described by Section 319.007 with the
employee's employer and a child-care provider and provide any
additional information the commission considers necessary.
(b) The employee shall pay the child-care provider the cost
of child-care services not covered by the employer's contribution
and the state match.
(c) If the amount of an employee's employer contribution and
state match provided under the employee's agreement are
insufficient to pay all of the employee's child-care costs, the
employee may combine those amounts with the employer contribution
and state match money provided under an agreement made under the
program by a member of the employee's household or family to pay the
total costs, provided that combining the amounts does not result in
overpayment to the provider.
Sec. 319.006. PROVIDER ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to
receive money under the program, a child-care provider must:
(1) be a high-quality program as determined by the
commission; and
(2) enter into an agreement described by Section
319.007.
Sec. 319.007. PROGRAM AGREEMENTS. The commission shall
create a standardized agreement for use by employers, employees,
and providers participating in the program, to be completed and
agreed to by each party. The agreement must include:
(1) the name, physical location, size, and industry of
the employer;
(2) the name and phone number of the employer's point
of contact;
(3) the name and physical location of the child-care
provider;
(4) the name and phone number of the child-care
provider's point of contact;
(5) the name and home address of the employee;
(6) the total amount of the child-care contribution to
be paid by the employer to the provider, either directly or through
a third-party vendor;
(7) the total amount of the state match to be paid to
the provider, either directly or through a third-party vendor;
(8) the duration of the agreement;
(9) the frequency of the contribution to be made
directly to the child-care provider; and
(10) demographic information about the employee.
Sec. 319.008. PROGRAM FUND. (a) The commission shall
establish and administer the program fund as a dedicated account in
the general revenue fund.
(b) The following amounts shall be deposited in the fund:
(1) any money appropriated by the legislature for the
fund for purposes of this chapter;
(2) interest earned on the investment of money in the
fund;
(3) funds resulting from civil penalties collected
under Section 319.011; and
(4) gifts, grants, and donations received for the
fund.
(c) Money in the fund may be appropriated only to the Texas
Workforce Commission for purposes authorized by this chapter.
(d) Any money remaining in the program fund at the end of a
fiscal year is carried forward to the next fiscal year.
(e) In each fiscal year and to the greatest extent
practicable, 25 percent of the total fund shall be distributed
under agreements with employers with fewer than 50 full-time
employees.
(f) During the fiscal year ending August 31, 2024, not more
than 10 percent of the total fund shall be distributed to the
commission to establish the program. In each subsequent fiscal
year, the commission may use money in the fund to administer the
program as follows:
(1) if the total annual amount of the fund is more than
$50 million, the commission may use not more than five percent of
the total fund;
(2) if the total annual amount of the fund is more than
$10 million but not more than $50 million, the commission may use
not more than 10 percent of the total fund; and
(3) if the total annual amount of the fund is not more
than $10 million, the commission may use not more than 15 percent of
the total fund.
Sec. 319.009. STATE MATCH. (a) On verifying the
eligibility of an employer, employee, and child-care provider and
the agreement between the parties, the commission shall issue a
state match in accordance with this section from the program fund to
a child-care provider in accordance with the terms of the
agreement. The commission may distribute the state match money
directly or through a third-party vendor, as applicable.
(b) The commission may approve an agreement and issue a
state match only if there is sufficient money in the program fund to
pay the costs under the agreement.
(c) The commission shall provide a state match equal to the
contribution made by the employee's employer if the employee has a
median household income that does not exceed the median state
household income.
(d) If the employee's median household income exceeds the
median state household income, the commission shall provide a state
match as follows:
(1) 90 percent of the employer's contribution for an
employee whose household income is not more than 120 percent of the
median household income;
(2) 80 percent of the employer's contribution for an
employee whose household income is greater than 120 percent but not
more than 140 percent of the median household income;
(3) 70 percent of the employer's contribution for an
employee whose household income is greater than 140 percent but not
more than 160 percent of the median household income;
(4) 60 percent of the employer's contribution for an
employee whose household income is greater than 160 percent but not
more than 180 percent of the median household income; and
(5) 50 percent of the employer's contribution for an
employee whose household income is more than 180 percent of the
median household income.
(e) A state match issued under the program and administered
by the commission may not be considered compensation for an
employee's service.
Sec. 319.010. REPORTS. (a) The commission shall publish
and submit to the legislature a report detailing the efficacy of the
program not later than December 15 of each even-numbered year. The
report must include the following information about the program:
(1) the amount appropriated to the program fund during
the preceding state fiscal year;
(2) the total number of standardized agreements
submitted by employers;
(3) the total amount of state matches paid out of the
program fund, disaggregated by county;
(4) information regarding the size, geographical
location, and industry type of employers who participated in the
program;
(5) the number, license type, quality rating level,
and geographical distribution of participating child-care
providers;
(6) average cost for services charged by child-care
providers participating in the program and information regarding
the amount by which those costs have increased or decreased during
the most recent reporting period compared with previous reporting
periods;
(7) the number and total dollar value of agreements
not approved by the commission; and
(8) demographic information regarding employees
participating in the program.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2025, the commission shall
publish and submit to the legislature a report detailing the
commission's plan for implementing the program. This subsection
expires September 1, 2025.
Sec. 319.011. FALSE INFORMATION; CIVIL PENALTY. A person
who intentionally provides false information to the commission for
purposes of receiving the benefits of the program shall be subject
to a civil penalty of not more than $500 per violation. All money
collected as a result of penalties assessed under this section
shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the employee
child-care assistance program fund.
SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2025, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall adopt any rules necessary to administer
the employer child-care contribution partnership program
established under Chapter 319, Labor Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.