HBA-MPA H.B. 1916 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1916
By: Oliveira
Economic Development
3/17/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, worker training is a major issue for companies wishing to
relocate to Texas, and some economic development corporations would like to
be able to offer companies funds for job training to make relocating more
attractive to those companies.  The ability to use economic development tax
money for job training could be a spur to economic development in areas
with an acute shortage of trained workers.  H.B. 1916 allows industrial
development corporations to use sales tax revenue for job training
expenditures. 

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. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 2(10), Article 5190.6, V.T.C.S. (Development
Corporation Act of 1979), to provide that the definition of "project" also
includes job training required or suitable for the promotion of development
and expansion of business described in this article, and makes a conforming
change.  Creates new paragraphs from existing text. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 3, Article 5190.6, V.T.C.S., to make conforming
and nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 4A(f), Article 5190.6, V.T.C.S., to make a
conforming change. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Section 4B(a)(2), Article 5190.6, V.T.C.S., to make
conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 5.  Amends Section 4C(b), Article 5190.6, V.T.C.S., to make
conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 6.  Amends Article 5190.6, V.T.C.S., by adding Section 38, as
follows: 

Sec. 38. (a) Defines "average weekly wage."

(b) Authorizes a corporation to spend tax revenue received under this
article for job training offered through a business enterprise only if it
has committed in writing to create new jobs paying the average weekly wage
for the county, except as provided in Subsection (c). 

(c) Authorizes a corporation to spend tax revenue received under this
article for job training offered through a business enterprise only if the
busines enterprise has committed in writing to create new jobs paying 90
percent of the average weekly wage for the county, if the county
unemployment rate for the preceding calendar year is 1.5 times the average
unemployment rate for the state. 


 (d)  Prohibits a corporation from spending tax revenue received under this
article in an amount that exceeds more than one-half the actual cost of job
training. 

(e) Prohibits a corporation from using tax revenue received under this
article for job training if other state or federal funds dedicated to job
training are used on the project, unless the county unemployment rate for
the preceding calendar year is 1.5 times the average unemployment rate for
the state. 

SECTION 7.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.