BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2271 By: Walle Trade, Workforce & Economic Development Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The bill author has informed the committee that the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) Texas Child Care Availability Portal does not require all licensed child-care centers to report data, only those centers that receive subsidies from the state for children covered by the Child Care Services program, making a comprehensive picture of total capacity and enrollment for child care across Texas more difficult to obtain. The bill author has also informed the committee that requiring all licensed child-care centers to provide monthly data would both improve the state's access to information and make reporting requirements uniform across child-care centers. C.S.H.B. 2271 seeks to address this issue by requiring all licensed child-care centers to regularly submit enrollment and capacity information to TWC. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 2 of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2271 amends the Human Resources Code to require each day-care center, group day‑care home, and family home to submit capacity and enrollment information to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) at least once each month and notify TWC as soon as practicable after any change in the center's or home's enrollment or capacity. Such submitted information must be disaggregated by age group and include information regarding: the day-care center's, group day-care home's, or family home's desired total capacity; the number of children currently enrolled in the center or home; and the number of positions the center or home has available for enrollment. The bill requires TWC to include the information on TWC's child care availability portal to allow parents to locate day-care centers, group day-care homes, and family homes in their geographic region that have available openings. The bill requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025. COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 2271 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. Whereas both the introduced and the substitute require each day-care center, group day-care home, and family home to notify TWC of a change in enrollment or capacity as soon as practicable after the change, the substitute omits the additional requirement for TWC to be notified not later than the 30th day after the date of any change in enrollment or capacity. With respect to the information required to be submitted to TWC by such entities, the substitute does the following: requires the information to be submitted at least once each month, which the introduced did not; and requires all the information to be disaggregated by age group, whereas the introduced only required information relating to the number of children currently enrolled in the center or home and the number of positions the center or home has available for enrollment to be disaggregated by age group.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2271
By: Walle
Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
Committee Report (Substituted)
C.S.H.B. 2271
By: Walle
Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The bill author has informed the committee that the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) Texas Child Care Availability Portal does not require all licensed child-care centers to report data, only those centers that receive subsidies from the state for children covered by the Child Care Services program, making a comprehensive picture of total capacity and enrollment for child care across Texas more difficult to obtain. The bill author has also informed the committee that requiring all licensed child-care centers to provide monthly data would both improve the state's access to information and make reporting requirements uniform across child-care centers. C.S.H.B. 2271 seeks to address this issue by requiring all licensed child-care centers to regularly submit enrollment and capacity information to TWC.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 2 of this bill.
ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2271 amends the Human Resources Code to require each day-care center, group day‑care home, and family home to submit capacity and enrollment information to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) at least once each month and notify TWC as soon as practicable after any change in the center's or home's enrollment or capacity. Such submitted information must be disaggregated by age group and include information regarding: the day-care center's, group day-care home's, or family home's desired total capacity; the number of children currently enrolled in the center or home; and the number of positions the center or home has available for enrollment. The bill requires TWC to include the information on TWC's child care availability portal to allow parents to locate day-care centers, group day-care homes, and family homes in their geographic region that have available openings. The bill requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 2271 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. Whereas both the introduced and the substitute require each day-care center, group day-care home, and family home to notify TWC of a change in enrollment or capacity as soon as practicable after the change, the substitute omits the additional requirement for TWC to be notified not later than the 30th day after the date of any change in enrollment or capacity. With respect to the information required to be submitted to TWC by such entities, the substitute does the following: requires the information to be submitted at least once each month, which the introduced did not; and requires all the information to be disaggregated by age group, whereas the introduced only required information relating to the number of children currently enrolled in the center or home and the number of positions the center or home has available for enrollment to be disaggregated by age group.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The bill author has informed the committee that the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) Texas Child Care Availability Portal does not require all licensed child-care centers to report data, only those centers that receive subsidies from the state for children covered by the Child Care Services program, making a comprehensive picture of total capacity and enrollment for child care across Texas more difficult to obtain. The bill author has also informed the committee that requiring all licensed child-care centers to provide monthly data would both improve the state's access to information and make reporting requirements uniform across child-care centers. C.S.H.B. 2271 seeks to address this issue by requiring all licensed child-care centers to regularly submit enrollment and capacity information to TWC.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 2 of this bill.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2271 amends the Human Resources Code to require each day-care center, group day‑care home, and family home to submit capacity and enrollment information to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) at least once each month and notify TWC as soon as practicable after any change in the center's or home's enrollment or capacity. Such submitted information must be disaggregated by age group and include information regarding:
the day-care center's, group day-care home's, or family home's desired total capacity;
the number of children currently enrolled in the center or home; and
the number of positions the center or home has available for enrollment.
The bill requires TWC to include the information on TWC's child care availability portal to allow parents to locate day-care centers, group day-care homes, and family homes in their geographic region that have available openings. The bill requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2271 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
Whereas both the introduced and the substitute require each day-care center, group day-care home, and family home to notify TWC of a change in enrollment or capacity as soon as practicable after the change, the substitute omits the additional requirement for TWC to be notified not later than the 30th day after the date of any change in enrollment or capacity.
With respect to the information required to be submitted to TWC by such entities, the substitute does the following:
requires the information to be submitted at least once each month, which the introduced did not; and
requires all the information to be disaggregated by age group, whereas the introduced only required information relating to the number of children currently enrolled in the center or home and the number of positions the center or home has available for enrollment to be disaggregated by age group.