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