Senators heard testimony on Senate Bill 24-48, which would create a rural workforce development program at the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The bill would authorize TWC to award grants to nonprofit technical-assistance providers who help rural communities align local workforce needs with education and training programs, increase access to postsecondary credentials and support college-and-career readiness.

Sponsor testimony described the structural challenges rural Texas faces: small school districts, limited local capacity to implement training programs and geographically dispersed postsecondary partners. Witnesses told the committee that technical-assistance providers can help local school districts and community colleges implement and sustain programs, manage shared equipment and connect students to local employers.

Grace Atkins of Texas 2036 testified in support and emphasized the bill’s tri-agency focus linking TWC, the Texas Education Agency and the Higher Education Coordinating Board. Andy Wilson of Collegiate DEGO Nation described how intermediaries can operate shared equipment and ensure a JET grant’s equipment is used. Randy Birx, executive director of the Hamlin Municipal Development District and former superintendent, described a local example where grant funding enabled equipment purchases but local capacity to implement training was limited; he said the technical-assistance role the bill creates would fill that gap.

The committee took testimony and left the bill pending.