HBA-AMW S.B. 429 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 429 By: Lucio Economic Development 4/30/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, only three of the five Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness (council) agencies are funding council activities, although Texas law requires all five agencies to proportionally fund activities. Senate Bill 429 authorizes the establishment of a proportional funding formula to enable equitable funding by the five council agencies, establishes performance measures as part of the state's performance-based budgeting and accountability system for agencies with workforce programs, and provides for the dissemination of workforce development system information over the Internet. 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 Senate Bill 429 amends the Government Code to require the Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness (council), with the governor's approval, to establish a funding formula to determine the level of support that each state agency represented on the council must provide. The bill also requires the council, with the governor's approval, to establish a funding formula to determine the level of support each state agency administering a workforce program must provide to operate the council's automated follow-up and evaluation system. The bill requires the council to engage in strategic planning by selecting or developing two types of performance measures and provides that all measures must be selected, to the fullest extent possible, from the measures already developed and approved before September 1, 2001, by one or more state agencies that administer workforce programs. The bill authorizes the council to develop a new measure only if the council identifies a gap in accountability or determines that at least one state agency administering a workforce program cannot report under the measures developed and approved before September 1, 2001. The bill sets forth provisions regarding the composition, development, review, and approval of the performance measures. The bill requires the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) to provide technical assistance to the council to ensure that the measures and associated reporting criteria are consistent with the state's performance budget and accounting system and requires the council and LBB to complete the development, review, and approval of the performance measures on or before September 1, 2002. The bill authorizes the council to exempt a state agency that administers a workforce program from any requirement to use a less formal measure. The bill requires the council to provide to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) information required to be reported to the governor and the legislature in periodic and annual reports, information required to be reported to the governor and legislature regarding analysis of work development programs focusing on welfare to work initiatives, and information on implementation of the strategic plan establishing the framework for the budgeting and operation of the workforce development system. TWC is required to include the information it receives under these provisions that relates to the administration and operation of the state's workforce development system with other information TWC provides to the public on the Internet. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.