88(R) SB 236 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	88R1201 RDS-F
	By:  Hinojosa	S.B.  No.  236

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to participation of the members of the Texas Workforce
	Commission in certain functions of the Tri-Agency Workforce
	Initiative.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    Section 2308A.004, Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec.  2308A.004.    QUARTERLY DISCUSSIONS.  The commissioner of
	education, commissioner of higher education, and all three members
	[chair] of the commission shall discuss the work of the initiative
	at least once per quarter.
	SECTION  2.    Sections 2308A.006(a), (d), and (e), Government
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)    The commissioner of education, commissioner of higher
	education, and all three members [chair] of the commission jointly
	shall develop and post in a prominent location on the initiative's
	and each respective agency's Internet website state workforce
	development goals and coordinated interagency strategies for
	achieving those goals.
	(d)    In consultation with employers, the commissioner of
	education, commissioner of higher education, and all three members
	[chair] of the commission jointly shall update the state workforce
	development goals and strategies developed under Subsection (a) at
	least every four years, or more frequently if needed to reflect
	available data and circumstances.
	(e)    In consultation with employers, the commissioner of
	education, commissioner of higher education, and all three members
	[chair] of the commission shall designate and update every two
	years a list of career pathways that includes the following two
	priority categories:
	(1)    target occupations, which include current needs
	that exist in one or more regions of the state as reflected in
	regional workforce assessments that:
	(A)    use the best available data and local
	employer requests; and
	(B)    satisfy minimum federal standards for
	designations, such as a foundation for qualified use of federal
	workforce funding; and
	(2)    critical career pathways that reflect the best
	statewide data and forecasts of skills and careers for which demand
	in the state is expected to grow that may:
	(A)    be associated with new emerging industries or
	new specialty occupations within an industry; or
	(B)    reflect pathways to better wages for workers
	with documented skills that provide promotional opportunities
	within or across occupations with targeted upskill training.
	SECTION  3.    This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.