Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 26 - SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS › Subchapter D - RECORDS, REPORTS, AND OTHER REQUIRED INFORMATION › Section 26.85 - Report of Workforce Diversity and Other Business Practices

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose. This
				  section establishes annual reporting requirements for a telecommunications
				  utility to report its progress and efforts to improve workforce diversity and
				  contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses
				  from its five-year plan filed in accordance with the Public Utility Regulatory
				  Act (PURA) §52.256(b).
(b)
				  Application. This section applies to a telecommunications utility, as defined
				  in PURA §51.002(11), doing business in the State of Texas. This section
				  does not apply to a company that holds a certificate of operating authority, a
				  company that holds a service provider certificate of operating authority, a
				  registered interexchange carrier, or an exempt carrier that meets the criteria
				  of PURA §52.154.
(c)
				  Terminology. In this section, "small business" and "historically underutilized
				  business" have the meaning assigned by the Texas Government Code §
										481.191.
(d) Annual progress report of workforce and
				  supplier contracting diversity. An "Annual Progress Report on Five-Year Plan to
				  Enhance Supplier and Workforce Diversity" must be filed annually with the
				  commission. The report must be filed on or before December 30 of each year for
				  the four prior quarters ending on September 30 of the year the report is filed.
				  A telecommunication utility that was not operational on January 1, 2000, and is
				  required to file in accordance with PURA §52.256(b), must file a plan in
				  Project Number 21170 by December 30 of the year in which an annual report is
				  due under this subsection.
(e)
				  Filing requirements. Four copies of the Annual Progress Report on Five-Year
				  Plan to Enhance Supplier and Workforce Diversity must be filed with the
				  commission's filing clerk under the project number assigned by the Public
				  Utility Commission's Central Records Office for that year's filings. A
				  Telecommunications utility must obtain the project number by contacting Central
				  Records. A copy of the report must also be sent to the Governor, the Lieutenant
				  Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the African-American
				  and Hispanic Caucus offices of the Texas Legislature.
(f) Contents of the report. The annual report
				  filed with the commission in accordance with this section must be filed using
				  the Workforce and Supplier Contracting Diversity form or an alternative format
				  prescribed by the commission and must contain the following information:
(1) An illustration of the diversity of the
				  telecommunications utility's workforce in the State of Texas at the time of the
				  report. If the telecommunications utility is required to file an Equal
				  Opportunity Report in accordance with §
											26.79 of this title (relating to
				  Equal Opportunity Reports), a copy of that document may be attached to this
				  report to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph.
(2) A description of the specific progress
				  made under the workforce diversity plan filed in accordance with PURA
				  §52.256(b), including:
(A) the specific
				  initiatives, programs, and activities undertaken during the preceding year;
				  and
(B) an assessment of the
				  success of each of those initiatives, programs, and activities.
(3) An explanation of the
				  telecommunications utility's level of contracting with small and historically
				  underutilized businesses in the State of Texas.
(4) The extent to which the
				  telecommunications utility has carried out its initiatives to facilitate
				  opportunities for contracts or joint ventures with small and historically
				  underutilized businesses.
(5) A
				  description of the initiatives, programs, and activities the telecommunications
				  utility will pursue during the next year to increase the diversity of its
				  workforce and contracting opportunities for small and historically
				  underutilized businesses in the State of Texas.