89R6196 DNC-D
By: Bhojani H.B. No. 4443
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment by the Texas Workforce Commission of
a pilot program to train workers for careers in energy-efficient
technologies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code is amended
by adding Section 302.02015 to read as follows:
Sec. 302.02015. CAREERS IN ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES
PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this section:
(1) "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
(2) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(3) "Public junior college" has the meaning assigned
by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the agency and the
coordinating board, shall establish and administer a pilot program
in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area under which the
commission partners with public junior colleges and
energy-efficient technology employers to provide necessary
education and training to students for entry into jobs in
industries using energy-efficient technologies.
(c) Subject to coordinating board approval, a public junior
college participating in the program may offer dual credit courses
to high school students or college-level courses to high school
graduates participating in the pilot program.
(d) The commission, in consultation with the agency and the
coordinating board, shall establish:
(1) curriculum requirements for courses and training
offered under the pilot program;
(2) eligibility criteria for a student or an
energy-efficient technology employer to participate in the pilot
program; and
(3) a certificate of completion the commission may
award to a pilot program participant for the successful completion
of a course of study and training in energy-efficient technologies
under the pilot program.
(e) Under the pilot program, the commission shall ensure
that the local workforce development board serving the workforce
development area in which the pilot program is administered
maintains the following information for each pilot program
participant following program completion, disaggregated by race,
ethnicity, sex, income, and location:
(1) the evaluation data described by Section
302.082(b); and
(2) data regarding the attainment of employment within
the field of energy-efficient technologies.
(f) The commission, agency, and coordinating board may
adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this section.
(g) Not later than December 1, 2030, the commission shall
evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program at enhancing the
entry rate of participants into careers in energy-efficient
technologies and report the results of the evaluation to the
legislature. The report must include the commission's
recommendation on whether the pilot program should be implemented
on a statewide basis.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2031.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.