Bill Text: TX HR161 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
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 | ||