HBA-EDN, SEP C.S.H.B. 1348 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1348 By: Villarreal, Mike Economic Development 4/11/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Child-care facilities are often instrumental in providing early education services to children. These services are crucial not only in fostering positive learning environments for children during their developmental years, but also in enabling the parents of those children to work and attain self-sufficiency. In Texas, however, assistance for child-care is limited. C.S.H.B. 1348 authorizes the Texas Workforce Commission to make grants available on a one-time basis for local workforce development boards to design and implement initiatives to address regional child-care needs. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1348 amends the Labor Code to authorize the Texas Workforce Commission to make grants available on a one-time basis to local workforce development boards (board) to enable the boards to design and implement demonstration projects to address certain child-care related issues. The bill sets forth requirements for the use of a grant by a board and conditions that a board must meet to be eligible for a grant. The bill authorizes child-care services that may continue to be funded at the conclusion of the demonstration project to be funded through existing board resources for child-care services or other local resources. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1348 modifies the original by authorizing the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to make grants available on a one-time basis to local workforce development boards (board) to design and implement demonstration projects to address certain child-care related issues, rather than requiring TWC, by rule, to establish one-time funds for the boards for those purposes. The substitute sets forth requirements for the use of a grant by a board and conditions that a board must meet to be eligible for a grant.