A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ESTABLISHING HIGH-QUALITY CHILD CARE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRANTS; ALLOWING THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM; CREATING THE CHILD CARE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND; PROVIDING ELIGIBILITY; and providing rulemaking authority."
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana recently conducted a survey to examine the adequacy of child care in the state and found significant economic impacts on Montana parents, employers, and taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, of the 404 households that responded, 57% reported that finding affordable child care is a challenge, 46% reported leaving work in the previous month due to inadequate child care, and 44% of respondents missed a full day of work in the previous month due to inadequate child care; and
WHEREAS, other impacts of inadequate child care included survey respondents who declined to pursue further education or training, turned down a promotion or a job offer, reduced work hours from full-time to part-time, and had been demoted, transferred to a less desirable position, or fired; and
WHEREAS, the economic impact for households earning $30,000 or less annually was approximately $3,400, more than 10%, in lost wages; and
WHEREAS, the overall average economic impact in 2019 to the Montana economy included a $5,700 loss to households, a $2,150 loss to businesses, and a $1,260 loss to taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, the overall total economic impact in 2019 that inadequate child care had on the state's economy included a loss of $145,146,000 to Montana households, $54,562,000 to Montana businesses, and $32,036,000 to Montana taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, the aggregated 10-year burden on the Montana economy due to inadequate child care is forecasted to be a cost of $572 million to households, $207 million to businesses, and $128 million to taxpayers, for a total aggregated 10-year burden of $907 million from 2019 to 2028; and
WHEREAS, Title 2, subtitle C, of the American Rescue Plan of 2021, H.R.1319 - 117th Congress (2021-2022), provides federal funding for child care; and
WHEREAS, this act is not only intended to serve as a conduit to receive and distribute federal child care funding under the American Rescue Plan of 2021, but it is also intended to serve as a future resource to the people of the state in providing low-cost, high-quality child care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
NEW SECTION. Section 1. Child care business development fund and program -- rulemaking. (1) There is a child care business development fund. The fund and program are administered by the department of commerce. The fund and program are established to provide child care business development grants to high-quality child care businesses.
(2) It is the intent of this section to require the department to create grants that stimulate high-quality, new child care businesses and growth for existing child care businesses.
(3) The revenue in the account is allocated to the department of commerce. The department may accept federal funds granted by congress or by executive order and gifts, grants, and donations for any purpose of this section.
(4) The department of commerce may adopt rules to implement the provisions of this section.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the term "child care business" means an entity providing child day-care services as provided under Title 52, chapter 2, part 7. The business shall follow industry standards as determined by the quality, rating, and improvement system that is described by the national association for the education of young children. The term includes a day care, day-care center, and day-care facility as defined in 52-2-703.
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 90, and the provisions of Title 90 apply to [section 1].