Monday, Governor Greg Abbott signed two bills into law which were key priorities for your Chamber of Commerce: SB6 (by Kelly Hancock) which provides limited liability protection as we reopen from the pandemic and SB1102 (by Brandon Creighton) which provides for upskilling up to 30,000 Texans displaced by the pandemic.

SB6 provides businesses, which followed the guidelines and didn’t act recklessly, with protection from frivolous lawsuits regarding pandemic illness and injury resulting from causes beyond their reasonable control. Your Chamber wanted to protect our members from lawsuits as they sought to reopen their businesses.

Senator Hancock’s bill actually went further. It protects physicians, health care providers and first responders in a similar fashion. It protects manufacturers from product liability lawsuits when their products were used outside the normal scope of their intended purpose because of the pandemic. Educational institutions including child care facilities also receive limited liability protection from cancellation or modification of services caused by the pandemic. These liability protections will make it easier for our economy to get to our new normal.

SB1102 establishes a path to upskill or reskill up to 30,000 Texans displaced from their jobs by the pandemic. Community Colleges working with employers and the Texas Workforce Commission, will seek to provide short term training resulting in a degree or industry recognized certification. This will allow these folks to reenter the workforce, usually in higher skilled and higher paying positions. This bill provides for grant funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to groups which will prioritize training for displaced workers. Preference will be given to organizations which train for high demand skills that lead to employment. The goal of the THECB will be to establish at least one program in each region of the state.

These two bills are wins for the business community during this legislative session. We applaud Senators Hancock and Creighton for making them happen. The liability protection bill went into effect when it was signed Monday. The workforce bill becomes effective on September 30, 2021.