Bill Text: TX HR161 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-03-18 - Reported enrolled [HR161 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR161-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 161 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Since 2004, the Prison Entrepreneurship Program has | ||
| equipped Texas inmates with valuable skills and resources that help | ||
| them achieve a successful reentry into society; and | ||
| WHEREAS, PEP is a nonprofit organization that aims to | ||
| transform the lives of its participants through completion of a | ||
| character development program and an entrepreneurship boot camp; to | ||
| join PEP, inmates must make it through a highly selective | ||
| application process, and those who are accepted are transferred to | ||
| the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Estes Unit, near Dallas, | ||
| or Bell Unit, near Houston; in the course of the program, | ||
| participants take part in a business plan competition and complete | ||
| numerous classes; upon graduation, they are honored in a formal | ||
| ceremony and awarded a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the | ||
| Baylor University Hankamer School of Business; and | ||
| WHEREAS, After being released from prison, PEP graduates have | ||
| experienced high rates of employment and low rates of recidivism, | ||
| and they continue to benefit from PEP resources such as eSchool | ||
| classes, the Communitas Business Centers, and family reunification | ||
| initiatives; to date, those who have completed the program have | ||
| established more than 500 businesses, including five that generate | ||
| over $1 million in gross annual revenue; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Among its many accolades, PEP has earned the Texas | ||
| Governor's Award for Criminal Justice Volunteer Service, and it was | ||
| named a Rising Star in the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social | ||
| Capitalist Awards; furthermore, it ranked as a finalist for the | ||
| Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation and an Ashoka | ||
| Changemakers award; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is excelling in | ||
| its mission of helping former inmates to become productive | ||
| citizens, and numerous individuals and communities have benefited | ||
| from its successful efforts; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby commend the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and | ||
| extend to all those associated with the organization sincere best | ||
| wishes for continued success; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for the Prison Entrepreneurship Program as an expression | ||
| of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. | ||
| Hull | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 161 was adopted by the House on March | ||
| 10, 2021, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
