88R795 RDS-D     By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 67       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a database of and the barring from state contracts of   certain employers for wage theft.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is   amended by adding Section 301.0705 to read as follows:          Sec. 301.0705.  DATABASE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYERS BARRED FROM   STATE CONTRACTS FOR WAGE THEFT. (a) In this section:                (1)  "Attorney representing the state" means a district   attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney   performing the duties of a district attorney.                (2)  "Employee" and "employer" have the meanings   assigned by Section 61.001.          (b)  The commission shall make available on its Internet   website a publicly accessible list of all employers in this state   that have been:                (1)  assessed an administrative penalty under Section   61.053;                (2)  ordered to pay wages by a final order of the   commission and have failed to comply with Section 61.063; or                (3)  convicted of an offense under:                      (A)  Section 61.019; or                      (B)  Section 31.04, Penal Code, if the offense   involved the theft of a service that was rendered by an employee of   the employer.          (c)  For an employer that is a business entity, the database   must include the name under which the entity operates and the name   of each individual who is an owner of the entity and actively   involved in the management of the entity.          (d)  The commission must provide notice to an employer not   later than the 180th day before the date the employer is listed in   the database.          (e)  The commission by rule shall establish a process by   which an employer may, at any time after receiving notice under   Subsection (d), dispute the employer's initial inclusion or   continued inclusion in the database, as applicable.  The process   must require the commission to investigate and make a final   determination regarding an employer dispute under this subsection   not later than the 21st day after the date the dispute is filed.          (f)  In a dispute regarding an employer's continued   inclusion in the database under Subsection (e), the commission   shall consider any material changes to the employer's management or   ownership following the incident for which the employer was   initially included in the database.          (g)  The commission shall list an employer in the database   until the third anniversary of the date the penalty is assessed or   the employer is convicted, unless the employer is removed from the   database as a result of the commission's determination following a   dispute under Subsection (e).          (h)  An attorney representing the state shall report to the   commission the name of each employer that is prosecuted and   convicted in the attorney's jurisdiction of an offense described by   Subsection (b)(3).          (i)  For purposes of this section, a person has been   convicted of an offense if the person was adjudged guilty of the   offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for   a grant of deferred adjudication community supervision, regardless   of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether   the sentence was probated and the person was subsequently   discharged from community supervision.          (j)  This section does not impose any additional requirement   on a contractor performing work under a contract that is subject to:                (1)  Chapter 2258, Government Code; or                 (2)  the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Section 3141 et   seq.) or another federal law that makes the Davis-Bacon Act   applicable to the contract.          (k)  Using the procedures prescribed under Section 2155.077,   Government Code, the comptroller shall bar an employer listed in   the commission's database under this section from participating in   state contracts until the employer is no longer listed in the   database.          SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to an employer:                (1)  for whom an administrative penalty is assessed on   or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the   conduct giving rise to the penalty occurred before, on, or after   that date;                (2)  who is subject to a final order of the Texas   Workforce Commission entered on or after the effective date of this   Act, regardless of whether the conduct giving rise to the order   occurred before, on, or after that date; or                (3)  for whom a judgment of conviction is entered, or   who is placed on deferred adjudication community supervision, on or   after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the   offense for which the employer was convicted, or for which the   employer was placed on deferred adjudication community   supervision, was committed before, on, or after that date.          SECTION 3.  Not later than December 1, 2023, the Texas   Workforce Commission shall establish the database required by   Section 301.0705, Labor Code, as added by this Act.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.