SB2448

Who can receive and use a grant: An applicant must be a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit, apply under commission rules, demonstrate relevant experience helping rural Texas institutions or school districts, and meet other relevant rule-based criteria. Money may be used only for the specified technical assistance and support, not unrestricted operations or automatic payments to every rural school or worker. The higher-education definition is the public-institution definition in Education Code 61.003. The act supplies no numerical rural-population cutoff. Final law, sections 302.301–.304; Higher-education definition; Federal tax-exemption provisions, 501(a) and (c)(3).

Controls and funding: The commission must consult the Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in establishing and administering the program. A grantee must contract with the commission on conditions giving it sufficient control to achieve the public purpose and a return benefit to the state. The commission must adopt rules and periodically verify appropriate use of the money. It may solicit and accept public or private gifts, grants and donations in addition to appropriations. By December 1 each year, it must report the previous state fiscal year’s grants and program effectiveness to state leaders and relevant legislative committees. Required rules are to be adopted as soon as practicable after the effective date. Final law, sections 302.302 and .304–.307 and act section 2.

Changes during passage: The introduced bill described a broader rural-development program, including possible grants to local entities, business recruitment and retention, and education-performance goals. The Senate committee substitute replaced that structure with the specific nonprofit technical-assistance grant program, adding express eligibility, contractual safeguards, spending limits, periodic review and annual reporting. Those changes survived: the Senate committee, Senate-passed, House committee and final operative texts matched. The amendment index lists no separate amendments. Introduced proposal; Senate substitute; All text versions; Amendment index; Final law.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Eligible nonprofits can receive funding to support rural education and training, potentially helping institutions respond to skills gaps; grants and successful employment outcomes are not guaranteed. The latest fiscal note says the state cost cannot be determined because the appropriation amount is unknown. Its example assumes $5 million in General Revenue each fiscal year and two additional grant-specialist positions, each with $70,662 in salary and $21,128 in benefits annually. These are illustrative assumptions, not amounts appropriated by SB2448. The earlier note used a $10 million annual example; that is not the latest estimate. April 16 fiscal note; April 6 fiscal note.

The latest note anticipates no significant fiscal impact for the education agency or coordinating board and no significant local-government implication. Its reference to grants to local entities is broader than the final statute’s nonprofit eligibility; the final law controls who qualifies. This briefing does not verify a separate budget appropriation, actual awards, agency rules or achieved workforce outcomes. Latest fiscal note; Final law.