| 1 | 1 | | 89R14506 TBO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Cain H.R. No. 949 |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Prison Entrepreneurship Program Day at the State |
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| 9 | 9 | | Capitol is taking place on April 29, 2025; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Established in 2004, the Prison Entrepreneurship |
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| 11 | 11 | | Program is a nonprofit organization that aims to transform the |
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| 12 | 12 | | lives of its participants through completion of a character |
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| 13 | 13 | | development program and an entrepreneurship boot camp; in the |
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| 14 | 14 | | course of the program, participants take part in a business plan |
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| 15 | 15 | | competition and complete numerous classes; upon graduation, they |
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| 16 | 16 | | are honored in a formal ceremony and awarded a Certificate in |
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| 17 | 17 | | Entrepreneurship from the Baylor University Hankamer School of |
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| 18 | 18 | | Business; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, After being released from prison, PEP graduates have |
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| 20 | 20 | | experienced high rates of employment and low rates of recidivism, |
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| 21 | 21 | | and they continue to benefit from PEP resources such as eSchool |
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| 22 | 22 | | classes, the Communitas Business Centers, and family reunification |
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| 23 | 23 | | initiatives; to date, nearly 10,000 incarcerated individuals have |
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| 24 | 24 | | participated in PEP, and over 4,000 certificates have been awarded; |
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| 25 | 25 | | those who have completed the program have established more than 700 |
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| 26 | 26 | | businesses, including several that generate over $5 million in |
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| 27 | 27 | | gross annual revenue; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | WHEREAS, Among its many accolades, PEP has earned the Texas |
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| 29 | 29 | | Governor's Award for Criminal Justice Volunteer Service, and it was |
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| 30 | 30 | | named a Rising Star in the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social |
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| 31 | 31 | | Capitalist Awards; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, For more than two decades, the Prison |
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| 33 | 33 | | Entrepreneurship Program has excelled in its mission of helping |
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| 34 | 34 | | former inmates to become productive citizens, and numerous |
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| 35 | 35 | | individuals and communities have benefited from its successful |
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| 36 | 36 | | efforts; now, therefore, be it |
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| 37 | 37 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 38 | 38 | | Legislature hereby recognize April 29, 2025, as Prison |
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| 39 | 39 | | Entrepreneurship Program Day at the State Capitol and extend a warm |
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| 40 | 40 | | welcome to the visiting delegation. |
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