Relating to the Texas Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs Grant Program.
relating to the Texas Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs
Grant Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 302.252(1), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) “Industry-recognized apprenticeship program”
means a training program that:
(A) provides on-the-job training, preparatory
instruction, supplementary instruction, or related instruction in
an occupation that has been recognized as an apprenticeable
occupation by the commission as provided by commission rule [Office
of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor]; or
(B) is certified by the commission as an
industry-recognized apprenticeship program as provided by
commission rule [by a third-party certifier that has received from
the United States Department of Labor a favorable determination of
qualification to award that certification].
SECTION 2. Section 302.256, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The commission by rule may distribute payments
constituting a partial reimbursement to an eligible person as
milestones for on-the-job training and employment are met by
program participants, in accordance with the grant terms.
SECTION 3. Section 302.257, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The commission shall adopt rules to administer and
enforce this subchapter, including rules establishing:
(1) which occupations are recognized by the commission
as an apprenticeable occupation for purposes of this subchapter and
the criteria for that determination, which must include that the
occupation:
(A) be customarily learned in a practical way
through a structured, systematic program of on-the-job supervised
training;
(B) be clearly identified and commonly
recognized throughout an industry;
(C) involve manual, mechanical, or technical
skills or knowledge which requires significant on-the-job work
experience; and
(D) require related instruction to supplement
the on-the-job training; and
(2) a process for and the criteria by which the
commission may certify a training program as an industry-recognized
apprenticeship program for purposes of this subchapter.
(a-1) The criteria adopted by the commission under
Subsection (a)(2) must be generally consistent with the standards
of apprenticeship prescribed by 29 C.F.R. Section 29.
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt the rules
required by Section 302.257, Labor Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a grant awarded under Subchapter I, Chapter 302, Labor Code, on
or after the effective date of this Act. A grant awarded before
that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the grant was
awarded, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
