89R14506 TBO-D
	By: Cain	H.R. No. 949

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Prison Entrepreneurship Program Day at the State
	Capitol is taking place on April 29, 2025; and
	WHEREAS, Established in 2004, the Prison Entrepreneurship
	Program is a nonprofit organization that aims to transform the
	lives of its participants through completion of a character
	development program and an entrepreneurship boot camp; in the
	course of the program, participants take part in a business plan
	competition and complete numerous classes; upon graduation, they
	are honored in a formal ceremony and awarded a Certificate in
	Entrepreneurship from the Baylor University Hankamer School of
	Business; and
	WHEREAS, After being released from prison, PEP graduates have
	experienced high rates of employment and low rates of recidivism,
	and they continue to benefit from PEP resources such as eSchool
	classes, the Communitas Business Centers, and family reunification
	initiatives; to date, nearly 10,000 incarcerated individuals have
	participated in PEP, and over 4,000 certificates have been awarded;
	those who have completed the program have established more than 700
	businesses, including several that generate over $5 million in
	gross annual revenue; and
	WHEREAS, Among its many accolades, PEP has earned the Texas
	Governor's Award for Criminal Justice Volunteer Service, and it was
	named a Rising Star in the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social
	Capitalist Awards; and
	WHEREAS, For more than two decades, the Prison
	Entrepreneurship Program has excelled in its mission of helping
	former inmates to become productive citizens, and numerous
	individuals and communities have benefited from its successful
	efforts; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
	Legislature hereby recognize April 29, 2025, as Prison
	Entrepreneurship Program Day at the State Capitol and extend a warm
	welcome to the visiting delegation.