Sen. Paul Bettencourt introduced SB 1961, a bill on Education and Labor, to the Texas Senate on Wednesday, March 5 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’relating to the reporting of data relating to postsecondary education and workforce trends by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission, to performance tier funding under the public junior college finance program, and to a biennial regional labor demand assessment by the coordinating board’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill mandates the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission to report data on postsecondary education and workforce trends, targeting better alignment with labor market needs. It requires de-identified, institution-specific data, including program completion and employment status of graduates and non-graduates, to be posted online while ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. Every two years, the board, alongside the Workforce Commission, will assess regional labor demands to help align educational programs with workforce requirements. It also revises the public junior college finance program to include performance funding based on credentials of value, which must align with labor demand, provide a return on investment, and achieve certain earnings thresholds. The bill stipulates enhanced reporting of employment and earnings data from employers. The act takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Paul Bettencourt, the chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government, proposed another 55 bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also a member of the Senate Committee on Committee of the Whole Senate, a member of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, a member of the Senate Committee on State Affairs, and a member of the Senate Committee on Transportation.
Bettencourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.
Paul Bettencourt is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state’s 7th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Dan Patrick in 2015.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB 1962 | 03/05/2025 | Relating to the assessment of public school students, public school accountability and actions, and proceedings challenging the operations of the public school system |
| SB 1883 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to the approval of land use assumptions, capital improvement plans, and impact fees |
| SB 1882 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to the imposition by a municipality of a moratorium on property development in certain circumstances |
| SB 15 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to size and density requirements for residential lots in certain municipalities; authorizing a fee |
| SB 1567 | 02/24/2025 | Relating to the authority of home-rule municipalities to regulate the occupancy of dwelling units |
| SB 1566 | 02/24/2025 | Relating to connection of utilities by certain entities in certain subdivisions formerly located in a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction |
| SB 1542 | 02/21/2025 | Relating to maintaining the accuracy of information contained within the statewide voter registration system; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 1541 | 02/21/2025 | Relating to state oversight of county elections following a county election audit |
| SB 1540 | 02/21/2025 | Relating to maintaining the confidentiality of the personal information of election officials and their employees |
| SB 1539 | 02/21/2025 | Relating to requirements and procedures in the contest of an election on a proposed constitutional amendment |
| SB 1509 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the authority of a municipality to regulate within its extraterritorial jurisdiction |
| SB 1503 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the expansion of the territory of an emergency services district into the territory of a municipality |
| SB 1502 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the authority of the governing body of a school district to adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the district’s voter-approval tax rate |
| SB 1501 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of general obligation bonds by political subdivisions |
| SB 1490 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to adult high school charter program funding |
| SB 1489 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the governance of public institutions of higher education, including the establishment of a faculty council or senate and the decision-making authority of public institutions of higher education |
| SB 1454 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the area of operations of and certain tax exemptions available to housing authorities |
| SB 1453 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the current debt rate and tax rate of a taxing unit for ad valorem tax purposes |
| SB 1452 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to continuation elections for municipal management districts |
| SB 1450 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to third-party review of development documents and inspection of improvements required to be approved by a political subdivision |
| SB 1449 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the effect of a disaster and associated costs to remove debris or wreckage on the calculation of certain tax rates and the procedure for adoption of a tax rate by a taxing unit |
| SB 1441 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to state agency employment openings and aptitude assessments |
| SB 1440 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to required reporting of certain discretionary prosecutorial decisions of prosecuting attorneys |
| SB 1439 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to automatic recounts of certain elections |
| SB 1438 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the procedure for a periodic rate adjustment by an electric utility |
| SB 1437 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for certification as certain juvenile officers or employees of a juvenile facility |
| SB 1436 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to accepting an early voting ballot voted by mail; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 1435 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to notice provided to certain state and local officials regarding an appeal of a municipal order filed by a transmission and distribution utility in a ratemaking proceeding |
| SB 1434 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to a prohibition on the use of public money by a school district to transport district students or employees to or from a polling place |
| SB 1433 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the assertion of legislative privilege by the attorney general in certain legal challenges to the constitutionality of state statutes |
| SB 4 | 02/06/2025 | Relating to an increase in the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district and the protection of school districts against certain losses in local revenue |
| SB 1025 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to the text of ballot propositions that increase taxes |
| SB 1024 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to the issuance of certain anticipation notes and certificates of obligation |
| SB 1023 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates |
| SB 991 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students |
| SB 990 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to increasing the punishment for certain conduct constituting the offense of murder |
| SB 989 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to criminal history record information for certain master, magistrate, referee, associate judge, or other court official applicants appointed or employed to serve in a state court |
| SB 988 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of criminal mischief involving impairment of a motor fuel pump or electric vehicle charging station |
| SB 987 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the subject matter jurisdiction of the criminal trial courts of this state over certain criminal actions |
| SB 986 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to procedures under the public information law, including expedited responses and charges for bad faith requests |
| SB 985 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the combination of certain election precincts |
| SB 984 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to access to individualized investigational treatments for patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses |
| SB 867 | 01/22/2025 | Relating to housing finance corporations; authorizing a fee |
| SB 818 | 01/16/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the Health Impact, Cost, and Coverage Analysis Program; authorizing a fee |
| SB 571 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to the eligibility of certain contract employees to provide services to a public school and access to the registry of persons who are not eligible for employment at public schools |
| SB 570 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to an attendance policy adopted by public schools to prevent truancy |
| SB 569 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to the provision of virtual education in public schools and to certain waivers and modifications by the commissioner of education to the method of calculating average daily attendance in an emergency or crisis for purposes of preserving school district funding entitlements under the Foundation School Program during that emergency or crisis; authorizing a fee |
| SB 568 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to special education in public schools, including funding for special education under the Foundation School Program |
| SB 511 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to prohibiting an officer or employee of this state or of a political subdivision of this state from distributing certain voter registration application forms; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 510 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to the failure of a voter registrar to comply with voter registration laws |
