Bill Text: TX HCR82 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled

Texas House Concurrent Resolution 82 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Requesting the creation of a joint interim committee to study education policy as it relates to developing a skilled workforce.

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Signed by the Governor [HCR82 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HCR82-Enrolled.html



	H.C.R. No. 82



	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, Structural change in an increasingly global economy
	has contributed to high unemployment and a decline in wages for
	those without college degrees; and
	WHEREAS, By 2011, a quarter of all young high school
	graduates were unemployed and more than half were underemployed;
	wages for those with only a high school diploma have fallen by 12
	percent over the past decade to under $20,000 a year, below the
	poverty threshold for a family of four; and
	WHEREAS, While the job market has shrunk dramatically for
	those with no education beyond high school, and college is out of
	reach or inappropriate for many individuals, the workforce has
	great demand in "middle jobs" that require no bachelor's degree but
	necessitate education and training beyond high school, commonly
	referred to as career and technical education or CTE; and
	WHEREAS, A recent Georgetown University study found there are
	at least 29 million middle jobs in such areas as nursing, sales, and
	the trades, representing one in every five jobs and nearly half of
	all middle-class jobs; the average annual wage for these positions
	is $42,000, and more than 11 million of these jobs pay well above
	$50,000 a year, including over four million that pay $75,000 or
	more; and
	WHEREAS, The share of high school students concentrating in
	vocational studies has declined for decades, but the modern
	equivalent of vocational programming, CTE, can provide career
	exploration and curricula that align with postsecondary programs
	and employer-based training; moreover, CTE encourages persistence
	to high school graduation along with academic development and
	stronger transitions to postsecondary education; at the
	postsecondary level, CTE often results in an industry-based
	certification, a postsecondary certificate, or an associate's
	degree in a particular career or educational pathway; and
	WHEREAS, Nearly two out of every three jobs will require some
	postsecondary education and training by 2020, but the United States
	currently lags behind other countries in linking postsecondary
	education with the needs of the labor market; in order for Texas to
	remedy this gap in the educational system, it is necessary to
	explore such topics as curriculum requirements, opportunities for
	new education-workforce partnerships, and the impact of emerging
	industrial sectors; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
	of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study
	education policy as it relates to developing a skilled workforce;
	and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be
	governed by such general rules and policies for joint interim
	committees as the 83rd Legislature may adopt.

	Hunter
	Price


	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House


	I certify that H.C.R. No. 82 was adopted by the House on May
	2, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	voting.

	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House


	I certify that H.C.R. No. 82 was adopted by the Senate on May
	22, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: _____________________
	Date

	_____________________
	Governor