BILL NUMBER: SB 342 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 507
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 5, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 5, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 1, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to amend Sections 14000, 14005, and 14013 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to unemployment insurance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 342, Jackson. California Workforce Investment Board:
responsibilities.
(1) Under existing law, the California Workforce Investment Board
is responsible for assisting the Governor in the development,
oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce
investment system. Existing law requires the board to assist the
Governor in targeting resources to specified industry sectors and
providing guidance to ensure that services reflect the needs of those
sectors.
This bill would additionally require the board to assist the
Governor in helping individuals with barriers to employment achieve
economic security and upward mobility by implementing policies that
encourage the attainment of marketable skills relevant to current
labor market trends.
(2) Existing law requires the California Workforce Investment
Board, in consultation with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards,
to identify opportunities for "earn and learn" job training
opportunities that meet an industry's workforce demands and that are
in high-wage, high-demand jobs, identify and develop specific
requirements and qualifications for entry into "earn and learn" job
training models, and establish standards for "earn and learn" job
training programs that are outcome oriented and accountable, as
specified.
This bill would define the term "earn and learn" for the purposes
of these provisions.
(3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections
14000, 14005, and 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code made by
this bill and AB 1270 to take effect if both bills are chaptered and
this bill is chaptered last.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14000 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14000. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in order for
California to remain prosperous and globally competitive, it needs to
have a well-educated and highly skilled workforce.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the following
principles shall guide the state's workforce investment system:
(1) Workforce investment programs and services shall be responsive
to the needs of employers, workers, and students by accomplishing
the following:
(A) Preparing California's students and workers with the skills
necessary to successfully compete in the global economy.
(B) Producing greater numbers of individuals who obtain
industry-recognized certificates and degrees in competitive and
emerging industry sectors and filling critical labor market skills
gaps.
(C) Adapting to rapidly changing local and regional labor markets
as specific workforce skill requirements change over time.
(D) Preparing workers for good-paying jobs that foster economic
security and upward mobility.
(2) State and local workforce investment boards are encouraged to
collaborate with other public and private institutions, including
businesses, unions, nonprofit organizations, kindergarten and grades
1 to 12, inclusive, career technical education programs, adult career
technical education and basic skills programs, community college
career technical education and basic skills programs,
entrepreneurship training programs, where appropriate, the California
Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program, and
the Employment Training Panel, to better align resources across
workforce education and training service delivery systems and build a
well-articulated workforce investment system by accomplishing the
following:
(A) Adopting local and regional training and education strategies
which include workplace-based earn and learn programs that build on
the strengths and fill the gaps in the education and workforce
development pipeline in order to address the needs of job seekers,
workers, and employers within regional labor markets by supporting
sector strategies.
(B) Leveraging resources across education and workforce training
delivery systems to build career pathways and fill critical skills
gaps.
(3) Workforce investment programs and services shall be data
driven and evidence based when setting priorities, investing
resources, and adopting practices.
(4) Workforce investment programs and services shall develop
strong partnerships with the private sector, ensuring industry
involvement in needs assessment, planning, and program evaluation.
(A) Workforce investment programs and services shall encourage
industry involvement by developing strong partnerships with an
industry's employers and the unions that represent the industry's
workers.
(B) Workforce investment programs and services may consider the
needs of employers and businesses of all sizes, including large,
medium, small, and microenterprises, when setting priorities,
investing resources, and adopting practices.
(5) Workforce investment programs and services shall be outcome
oriented and accountable, measuring results for program participants,
including, but not limited to, outcomes related to program
completion, employment, and earnings.
(6) Programs and services shall be accessible to employers, the
self-employed, workers, and students who may benefit from their
operation, including individuals with employment barriers, such as
persons with economic, physical, or other barriers to employment.
SEC. 1.5. Section 14000 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14000. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in order for
California to remain prosperous and globally competitive, it needs to
have a well-educated and highly skilled workforce.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the following
principles shall guide the state's workforce investment system:
(1) Workforce investment programs and services shall be responsive
to the needs of employers, workers, and students by accomplishing
the following:
(A) Preparing California's students and workers with the skills
necessary to successfully compete in the global economy.
(B) Producing greater numbers of individuals who obtain
industry-recognized certificates and career-oriented degrees in
competitive and emerging industry sectors and filling critical labor
market skills gaps.
(C) Adapting to rapidly changing local and regional labor markets
as specific workforce skill requirements change over time.
(D) Preparing workers for good-paying jobs that foster economic
security and upward mobility.
(E) Aligning employment programs, resources, and planning efforts
regionally around industry sectors that drive regional employment to
connect services and training directly to jobs.
(2) State and local workforce development boards are encouraged to
collaborate with other public and private institutions, including
businesses, unions, nonprofit organizations, kindergarten and grades
1 to 12, inclusive, career technical education programs, adult career
technical education and basic skills programs, apprenticeships,
community college career technical education and basic skills
programs, entrepreneurship training programs, where appropriate, the
California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development
Program, the Employment Training Panel, and county-based social and
employment services, to better align resources across workforce,
training, education, and social service delivery systems and build a
well-articulated workforce investment system by accomplishing the
following:
(A) Adopting local and regional training and education strategies
which include workplace-based earn and learn programs that build on
the strengths and fill the gaps in the education and workforce
development pipeline in order to address the needs of job seekers,
workers, and employers within regional labor markets by supporting
sector strategies.
(B) Leveraging resources across education and workforce training
delivery systems to build career pathways and fill critical skills
gaps.
(3) Workforce investment programs and services shall be data
driven and evidence based when setting priorities, investing
resources, and adopting practices.
(4) Workforce investment programs and services shall develop
strong partnerships with the private sector, ensuring industry
involvement in needs assessment, planning, and program evaluation.
(A) Workforce investment programs and services shall encourage
industry involvement by developing strong partnerships with an
industry's employers and the unions that represent the industry's
workers.
(B) Workforce investment programs and services may consider the
needs of employers and businesses of all sizes, including large,
medium, small, and microenterprises, when setting priorities,
investing resources, and adopting practices.
(5) Workforce investment programs and services shall be outcome
oriented and accountable, measuring results for program participants,
including, but not limited to, outcomes related to program
completion, employment, and earnings.
(6) Programs and services shall be accessible to employers, the
self-employed, workers, and students who may benefit from their
operation, including individuals with employment barriers, such as
persons with economic, physical, or other barriers to employment.
SEC. 2. Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14005. For purposes of this division:
(a) "Board" means the California Workforce Investment Board.
(b) "Agency" means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
(c) "Career pathways," "career ladders," or "career lattices" mean
an identified series of positions, work experiences, or educational
benchmarks or credentials with multiple access points that offer
occupational and financial advancement within a specified career
field or related fields over time.
(d) "Cluster-based sector strategies" mean methods of focusing
workforce and economic development on those sectors that have
demonstrated a capacity for economic growth and job creation in a
particular geographic area.
(e) "Data driven" means a process of making decisions about
investments and policies based on systematic analysis of data, which
may include data pertaining to labor markets.
(f) "Economic security" means, with respect to a worker, earning a
wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and, over time, to
save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement income, based on
factors such as household size, the cost of living in the worker's
community, and other factors that may vary by region.
(g) "Evidence-based" means making use of policy research as a
basis for determining best policy practices. Evidence-based
policymakers adopt policies that research has shown to produce
positive outcomes, in a variety of settings, for a variety of
populations over time. Successful, evidence-based programs deliver
quantifiable and sustainable results. Evidence-based practices differ
from approaches that are based on tradition, belief, convention, or
anecdotal evidence.
(h) "High-priority occupations" mean occupations that have a
significant presence in a targeted industry sector or industry
cluster, are in demand by employers, and pay or lead to payment of a
wage that provides economic security.
(i) "Individual with employment barriers" means an individual with
any characteristic that substantially limits an individual's ability
to obtain employment, including indicators of poor work history,
lack of work experience, or access to employment in nontraditional
occupations, long-term unemployment, lack of educational or
occupational skills attainment, dislocation from high-wage and
high-benefit employment, low levels of literacy or English
proficiency, disability status, or welfare dependency.
(j) "Industry cluster" means a geographic concentration or
emerging concentration of interdependent industries with direct
service, supplier, and research relationships, or independent
industries that share common resources in a given regional economy or
labor market. An industry cluster is a group of employers closely
linked by common product or services, workforce needs, similar
technologies, and supply chains in a given regional economy or labor
market.
(k) (1) "Industry or sector partnership" means a workforce
collaborative that organizes key stakeholders in a targeted industry
cluster into a working group that focuses on the workforce needs of
the targeted industry cluster. An industry or sector partnership
organizes the stakeholders connected with a specific local or
regional industry--multiple firms, labor groups, education and
training providers, and workforce and education systems--to develop
workforce development strategies within the industry. Successful
sector partnerships leverage partner resources to address both
short-term and long-term human capital needs of a particular sector,
including by analyzing current labor markets and identifying barriers
to employment within the industry, developing cross-firm skill
standards, curricula, and training programs, and developing
occupational career ladders to ensure workers of all skill levels can
advance within the industry.
(2) Industry or sector partnerships include, at the appropriate
stage of development of the partnership, all of the following:
(A) Representatives of multiple firms or employers in the targeted
industry cluster, including small-sized and medium-sized employers
when practicable.
(B) One or more representatives of state labor organizations,
central labor coalitions, or other labor organizations, except in
instances where no labor representations exists.
(C) One or more representatives of local workforce investment
boards.
(D) One or more representatives of kindergarten and grades 1 to
12, inclusive, and postsecondary educational institutions or other
training providers, including, but not limited to, career technical
educators.
(E) One or more representatives of state workforce agencies or
other entities providing employment services.
(3) An industry or sector partnership may also include
representatives from the following:
(A) State or local government.
(B) State or local economic development agencies.
(C) Other state or local agencies.
(D) Chambers of commerce.
(E) Nonprofit organizations.
(F) Philanthropic organizations.
(G) Economic development organizations.
(H) Industry associations.
(I) Other organizations, as determined necessary by the members
comprising the industry or sector partnership.
(l) "Industry sector" means those firms that produce similar
products or provide similar services using somewhat similar business
processes, and are closely linked by workforce needs, within a
regional labor market.
(m) "Local labor federation" means a central labor council that is
an organization of local unions affiliated with the California Labor
Federation or a local building and construction trades council
affiliated with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of
California.
(n) "Sector strategies" means methods of prioritizing investments
in competitive and emerging industry sectors and industry clusters on
the basis of labor market and other economic data indicating
strategic growth potential, especially with regard to jobs and
income, and exhibit the following characteristics:
(1) Focus workforce investment in education and workforce training
programs that are likely to lead to jobs providing economic security
or to an entry-level job with a well-articulated career pathway into
a job providing economic security.
(2) Effectively boost labor productivity or reduce business
barriers to growth and expansion stemming from workforce supply
problems, including skills gaps and occupational shortages by
directing resources and making investments to plug skills gaps and
provide education and training programs for high-priority
occupations.
(3) May be implemented using articulated career pathways or
lattices and a system of stackable credentials.
(4) May target underserved communities, disconnected youths,
incumbent workers, and recently separated military veterans.
(5) Frequently are implemented using industry or sector
partnerships.
(6) Typically are implemented at the regional level where sector
firms, those employers described in subdivisions (j) and (l), often
share a common labor market and supply chains. However, sector
strategies may also be implemented at the state or local level
depending on sector needs and labor market conditions.
(o) "Workforce Investment Act of 1998" means the federal act
enacted as Public Law 105-220.
(p) (1) "Earn and learn" includes, but is not limited to, a
program that does either of the following:
(A) Combines applied learning in a workplace setting with
compensation allowing workers or students to gain work experience and
secure a wage as they develop skills and competencies directly
relevant to the occupation or career for which they are preparing.
(B) Brings together classroom instruction with on-the-job training
to combine both formal instruction and actual paid work experience.
(2) "Earn and learn" programs include, but are not limited to, all
of the following:
(A) Apprenticeships.
(B) Preapprenticeships.
(C) Incumbent worker training.
(D) Transitional and subsidized employment, particularly for
individuals with barriers to employment.
(E) Paid internships and externships.
(F) Project-based compensated learning.
SEC. 2.5. Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14005. For purposes of this division:
(a) "Board" means the California Workforce Development Board.
(b) "Agency" means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
(c) "Career pathways," "career ladders," or "career lattices" are
an identified series of positions, work experiences, or educational
benchmarks or credentials with multiple access points that offer
occupational and financial advancement within a specified career
field or related fields over time. "Career pathways," "career
ladders," and "career lattices" offer combined programs of rigorous
and high-quality education, training, and other services that do all
of the following:
(1) Align with the skill needs of industries in the economy of the
state or regional economy involved.
(2) Prepare an individual to be successful in any of a full range
of secondary or postsecondary education options, including
apprenticeships registered under the National Apprenticeship Act of
1937 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 50 et seq.), except as in Section 3226 of Title
29 of the United States Code.
(3) Include counseling to support an individual in achieving the
individual's education and career goals.
(4) Include, as appropriate, education offered concurrently with
and in the same context as workforce preparation activities and
training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
(5) Organize education, training, and other services to meet the
particular needs of an individual in a manner that accelerates the
educational and career advancement of the individual to the extent
practicable.
(6) Enable an individual to attain a secondary school diploma or
its recognized equivalent, and at least one recognized postsecondary
credential.
(7) Help an individual enter or advance within a specific
occupation or occupational cluster.
(d) "Cluster-based sector strategies" mean methods of focusing
workforce and economic development on those sectors that have
demonstrated a capacity for economic growth and job creation in a
particular geographic area.
(e) "Data driven" means a process of making decisions about
investments and policies based on systematic analysis of data, which
may include data pertaining to labor markets.
(f) "Economic security" means, with respect to a worker, earning a
wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and, over time, to
save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement income, based on
factors such as household size, the cost of living in the worker's
community, and other factors that may vary by region.
(g) "Evidence-based" means making use of policy research as a
basis for determining best policy practices. Evidence-based
policymakers adopt policies that research has shown to produce
positive outcomes, in a variety of settings, for a variety of
populations over time. Successful, evidence-based programs deliver
quantifiable and sustainable results. Evidence-based practices differ
from approaches that are based on tradition, belief, convention, or
anecdotal evidence.
(h) "High-priority occupations" mean occupations that have a
significant presence in a targeted industry sector or industry
cluster, are in demand, or projected to be in demand, by employers,
and pay or lead to payment of a wage that provides economic security.
(i) (1) "In-demand industry sector or occupation" means either of
the following:
(A) An industry sector that has a substantial current or potential
impact, including through jobs that lead to economic
self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement, on the state,
regional, or local economy, as appropriate, and that contributes to
the growth or stability of other supporting businesses, or the growth
of other industry sectors.
(B) An occupation that currently has or is projected to have a
number of positions, including positions that lead to economic
self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement, in an industry
sector so as to have a significant impact on the state, regional, or
local economy, as appropriate.
(2) The determination of whether an industry sector or occupation
is "in-demand" under this subdivision shall be made by the board or
local board, or through the regional planning process in which local
boards participate under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act, as appropriate, using state and regional business and labor
market projections, including the use of labor market information.
(j) "Individual with employment barriers" means an individual with
any characteristic that substantially limits an individual's ability
to obtain employment, including indicators of poor work history,
lack of work experience, or access to employment in nontraditional
occupations, long-term unemployment, lack of educational or
occupational skills attainment, dislocation from high-wage and
high-benefit employment, low levels of literacy or English
proficiency, disability status, or welfare dependency, including
members of all of the following groups:
(1) Displaced homemakers.
(2) Low-income individuals.
(3) Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, as those terms
are defined in Section 3221 of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(4) Individuals with disabilities, including youths who are
individuals with disabilities.
(5) Older individuals.
(6) Ex-offenders.
(7) Homeless individuals, as defined in Section 14043e-2(6) of
Title 42 of the United States Code, or homeless children and youths,
as defined in Section 11434a(2) of Title 42 of the United States
Code.
(8) Youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system.
(9) Individuals who are English language learners, individuals who
have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial
cultural barriers.
(10) Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers, as defined in
Section 3322(i) of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(11) Individuals within two years of exhausting lifetime
eligibility under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.).
(12) Single parents, including single, pregnant women.
(13) Long-term unemployed individuals.
(14) Any other groups as the Governor determines to have barriers
to employment.
(k) "Industry cluster" means a geographic concentration or
emerging concentration of interdependent industries with direct
service, supplier, and research relationships, or independent
industries that share common resources in a given regional economy or
labor market. An industry cluster is a group of employers closely
linked by common product or services, workforce needs, similar
technologies, and supply chains in a given regional economy or labor
market.
( l ) "Industry or sector partnership" means a
workforce collaborative, convened or acting in partnership with the
board or a local board, that does the following:
(1) Organizes key stakeholders in an industry cluster into a
working group that focuses on the shared goals and human resources
needs of the industry cluster and that includes, at the appropriate
stages of development of the partnership:
(A) Representatives of multiple businesses or other employers in
the industry cluster, including small and medium-sized employers when
practicable.
(B) One or more representatives of a recognized state labor
organization or central labor council, or another labor
representative, as appropriate.
(C) One or more representatives of an institution of higher
education with, or another provider of, education or training
programs that support the industry cluster.
(2) The workforce collaborative may include representatives of any
of the following:
(A) State or local government.
(B) State or local economic development agencies.
(C) State boards or local boards, as appropriate.
(D) A state workforce agency or entity providing employment
services.
(E) Other state or local agencies.
(F) Business or trade associations.
(G) Economic development organizations.
(H) Nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, or
intermediaries.
(I) Philanthropic associations.
(J) Industry associations.
(K) Other organizations, as determined to be necessary by the
members comprising the industry sector or partnership.
(m) "Industry sector" means those firms that produce similar
products or provide similar services using somewhat similar business
processes, and are closely linked by workforce needs, within a
regional labor market.
(n) "Local labor federation" means a central labor council that is
an organization of local unions affiliated with the California Labor
Federation or a local building and construction trades council
affiliated with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of
California.
(o) "Sector strategies" means methods of prioritizing investments
in competitive and emerging industry sectors and industry clusters on
the basis of labor market and other economic data indicating
strategic growth potential, especially with regard to jobs and
income, and exhibit the following characteristics:
(1) Focus workforce investment in education and workforce training
programs that are likely to lead to jobs providing economic security
or to an entry-level job with a well-articulated career pathway into
a job providing economic security.
(2) Effectively boost labor productivity or reduce business
barriers to growth and expansion stemming from workforce supply
problems, including skills gaps and occupational shortages by
directing resources and making investments to plug skills gaps and
provide education and training programs for high-priority
occupations.
(3) May be implemented using articulated career pathways or
lattices and a system of stackable credentials.
(4) May target underserved communities, disconnected youths,
incumbent workers, and recently separated military veterans.
(5) Frequently are implemented using industry or sector
partnerships.
(6) Typically are implemented at the regional level where sector
firms, those employers described in subdivisions (j) and (l), often
share a common labor market and supply chains. However, sector
strategies may also be implemented at the state or local level
depending on sector needs and labor market conditions.
(p) "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014" means the
federal act enacted as Public Law 113-128.
(q) (1) "Earn and learn" includes, but is not limited to, a
program that does either of the following:
(A) Combines applied learning in a workplace setting with
compensation allowing workers or students to gain work experience and
secure a wage as they develop skills and competencies directly
relevant to the occupation or career for which they are preparing.
(B) Brings together classroom instruction with on-the-job training
to combine both formal instruction and actual paid work experience.
(2) "Earn and learn" programs include, but are not limited to,
all of the following:
(A) Apprenticeships.
(B) Preapprenticeships.
(C) Incumbent worker training.
(D) Transitional and subsidized employment, particularly for
individuals with barriers to employment.
(E) Paid internships and externships.
(F) Project-based compensated learning.
SEC. 3. Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14013. The board shall assist the Governor in the following:
(a) Promoting the development of a well-educated and highly
skilled 21st century workforce.
(b) Developing the State Workforce Investment Plan.
(c) Developing guidelines for the continuous improvement and
operation of the workforce investment system, including:
(1) Developing policies to guide the one-stop system.
(2) Providing technical assistance for the continuous improvement
of the one-stop system.
(3) Recommending state investments in the one-stop system.
(4) Targeting resources to competitive and emerging industry
sectors and industry clusters that provide economic security and are
either high-growth sectors or critical to California's economy, or
both. These industry sectors and clusters shall have significant
economic impacts on the state and its regional and workforce
development needs and have documented career opportunities.
(5) To the extent permissible under state and federal laws,
recommending youth policies and strategies that support linkages
between kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and community
college educational systems and youth training opportunities in order
to help youth secure educational and career advancement. These
policies and strategies may be implemented using a sector strategies
framework and should ultimately lead to placement in a job providing
economic security or job placement in an entry-level job that has a
well-articulated career pathway or career ladder to a job providing
economic security.
(6) To the extent permissible under state and federal law,
recommending adult and dislocated worker training policies and
investments that offer a variety of career opportunities while
upgrading the skills of California's workforce. These may include
training policies and investments pertaining to any of the following:
(A) Occupational skills training, including training for
nontraditional employment.
(B) On-the-job training.
(C) Programs that combine workplace training with related
instruction, which may include cooperative education programs.
(D) Training programs operated by the private sector.
(E) Skill upgrading and retraining.
(F) Entrepreneurial training.
(G) Job readiness training.
(H) Adult education and literacy activities provided in
combination with any of the services described in this paragraph.
(I) Customized training conducted with a commitment by an employer
or group of employers to employ an individual upon successful
completion of the training.
(d) Developing and continuously improving the statewide workforce
investment system as delivered via the one-stop delivery system and
via other programs and services supported by funding from the federal
Workforce Investment Act of 1998, including:
(1) Developing linkages in order to ensure coordination and
nonduplication among workforce programs and activities.
(2) Reviewing local workforce investment plans.
(3) Leveraging state and federal funds to ensure that resources
are invested in activities that meet the needs of the state's
competitive and emerging industry sectors and advance the education
and employment needs of students and workers so they can keep pace
with the education and skill needs of the state, its regional
economies, and leading industry sectors.
(e) Commenting, at least once annually, on the measures taken
pursuant to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
Education Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-392; 20 U.S.C. Sec.
2301 et seq.).
(f) Designating local workforce investment areas within the state
based on information derived from all of the following:
(1) Consultations with the Governor.
(2) Consultations with the chief local elected officials.
(3) Consideration of comments received through the public comment
process, as described in Section 112(b)(9) of the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
(g) Developing and modifying allocation formulas, as necessary,
for the distribution of funds for adult employment and training
activities, for youth activities to local workforce investment areas,
and dislocated worker employment and training activities, as
permitted by federal law.
(h) Coordinating the development and continuous improvement of
comprehensive state performance measures, including state adjusted
levels of performance, to assess the effectiveness of the workforce
investment activities in the state.
(i) Preparing the annual report to the United States Secretary of
Labor.
(j) Recommending policy for the development of the statewide
employment statistics system, including workforce and economic data,
as described in Section 49l-2 of Title 29 of the United States Code,
and using, to the fullest extent possible, the Employment Development
Department's existing labor market information systems.
(k) Recommending strategies to the Governor for strategic training
investments of the Governor's 15-percent discretionary funds.
(l) Developing and recommending waivers, in conjunction with local
workforce investment boards, to the Governor as provided for in the
federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
(m) Recommending policy to the Governor for the use of the
25-percent rapid response funds, as authorized under the federal
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
(n) Developing an application to the United States Department of
Labor for an incentive grant under Section 9273 of Title 20 of the
United States Code.
(o) (1) Developing a workforce metrics dashboard, to be updated
annually, that measures the state's human capital investments in
workforce development to better understand the collective impact of
these investments on the labor market. The workforce metrics
dashboard shall be produced using existing available data and
resources that are currently collected and accessible to state
agencies. The board shall convene workforce program partners to
develop a standardized set of inputs and outputs for the workforce
metrics dashboard. The workforce metrics dashboard shall do all of
the following:
(A) Provide a status report on credential attainment, training
completion, degree attainment, and participant earnings from
workforce education and training programs. The board shall publish
and distribute the final report.
(B) Provide demographic breakdowns, including, to the extent
possible, race, ethnicity, age, gender, veteran status, wage and
credential or degree outcomes, and information on workforce outcomes
in different industry sectors.
(C) Measure, at a minimum and to the extent feasible with existing
resources, the performance of the following workforce programs:
community college career technical education, the Employment Training
Panel, Title I and Title II of the federal Workforce Investment Act
of 1998, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and state apprenticeship
programs.
(D) Measure participant earnings in California, and to the extent
feasible, in other states. The Employment Development Department
shall assist the board by calculating aggregated participant earnings
using unemployment insurance wage records, without violating any
applicable confidentiality requirements.
(2) The State Department of Education is hereby authorized to
collect the social security numbers of adults participating in adult
education programs so that accurate participation in those programs
can be represented in the report card. However, an individual shall
not be denied program participation if he or she refuses to provide a
social security number. The State Department of Education shall keep
this information confidential and shall only use this information
for tracking purposes, in compliance with all applicable state and
federal law.
(3) (A) Participating workforce programs, as specified in
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), shall provide participant data in
a standardized format to the Employment Development Department.
(B) The Employment Development Department shall aggregate data
provided by participating workforce programs and shall report the
data, organized by demographics, earnings, and industry of
employment, to the board to assist the board in producing the annual
workforce metrics dashboard.
(p) Helping individuals with barriers to employment, including
low-skill, low-wage workers, the long-term unemployed, and members of
single-parent households, achieve economic security and upward
mobility by implementing policies that encourage the attainment of
marketable skills relevant to current labor market trends.
SEC. 3.5. Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14013. The board shall assist the Governor in the following:
(a) Promoting the development of a well-educated and highly
skilled 21st century workforce.
(b) Developing, implementing, and modifying the State Plan. The
State Plan shall serve as the comprehensive framework and coordinated
plan for the aligned investment of all federal and state workforce
training and employment services funding streams and programs. To the
extent feasible and when appropriate, the state plan should
reinforce and work with adult education and career technical
education efforts that are responsive to labor market trends.
(c) The review of statewide policies, of statewide programs, and
of recommendations on actions that should be taken by the state to
align workforce, education, training, and employment funding programs
in the state in a manner that supports a comprehensive and
streamlined workforce development system in the state, including the
review and provision of comments on the State Plan, if any, for
programs and activities of one-stop partners that are not core
programs.
(d) Developing and continuously improving the statewide workforce
investment system, including:
(1) The identification of barriers and means for removing barriers
to better coordinate, align, and avoid duplication among the
programs and activities carried out through the system.
(2) The development of strategies to support the use of career
pathways for the purpose of providing individuals, including
low-skilled adults, youth, and individuals with barriers to
employment, and including individuals with disabilities, with
workforce investment activities, education, and supportive services
to enter or retain employment. To the extent permissible under state
and federal laws, these policies and strategies should support
linkages between kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and
community college educational systems in order to help secure
educational and career advancement. These policies and strategies may
be implemented using a sector strategies framework and should
ultimately lead to placement in a job providing economic security or
job placement in an entry-level job that has a well-articulated
career pathway or career ladder to a job providing economic security.
(3) The development of strategies for providing effective outreach
to and improved access for individuals and employers who could
benefit from services provided through the workforce development
system.
(4) The development and expansion of strategies for meeting the
needs of employers, workers, and jobseekers, particularly through
industry or sector partnerships related to in-demand industry sectors
and occupations, including policies targeting resources to
competitive and emerging industry sectors and industry clusters that
provide economic security and are either high-growth sectors or
critical to California's economy, or both. These industry sectors and
clusters shall have significant economic impacts on the state and
its regional and workforce development needs and have documented
career opportunities.
(5) Recommending adult and dislocated worker training policies and
investments that offer a variety of career opportunities while
upgrading the skills of California's workforce. These may include
training policies and investments pertaining to any of the following:
(A) Occupational skills training, including training for
nontraditional employment.
(B) On-the-job training.
(C) Incumbent worker training in accordance with Section 3174(d)
(4) of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(D) Programs that combine workplace training with related
instruction, which may include cooperative education programs.
(E) Training programs operated by the private sector.
(F) Skill upgrading and retraining.
(G) Entrepreneurial training.
(H) Transitional jobs in accordance with Section 3174 (d)(5) of
Title 29 of the United States Code.
(I) Job readiness training provided in combination with any of the
services described in subparagraphs (A) to (H), inclusive.
(J) Adult education and literacy activities provided in
combination with any of the services described in subparagraphs (A)
to (G), inclusive.
(K) Customized training conducted with a commitment by an employer
or group of employers to employ an individual upon successful
completion of the training.
(e) The identification of regions, including planning regions, for
the purposes of Section 3121(a) of Title 29 of the United States
Code, and the designation of local areas under Section 3121 of Title
29 of the United States Code, after consultation with local boards
and chief elected officials.
(f) The development and continuous improvement of the one-stop
delivery system in local areas, including providing assistance to
local boards, one-stop operators, one-stop partners, and providers
with planning and delivering services, including training services
and supportive services, to support effective delivery of services to
workers, job seekers, and employers.
(g) Recommending strategies to the Governor for strategic training
investments of the Governor's 15-percent discretionary funds.
(h) Developing strategies to support staff training and awareness
across programs supported under the workforce development system.
(i) The development and updating of comprehensive state
performance accountability measures, including state adjusted levels
of performance, to assess the effectiveness of the core programs in
the state as required under Section 3141(b) of Title 29 of the United
States Code. As part of this process the board shall do all of the
following:
(1) Develop a workforce metrics dashboard, to be updated annually,
that measures the state's human capital investments in workforce
development to better understand the collective impact of these
investments on the labor market. The workforce metrics dashboard
shall be produced using existing available data and resources that
are currently collected and accessible to state agencies. The board
shall convene workforce program partners to develop a standardized
set of inputs and outputs for the workforce metrics dashboard. The
workforce metrics dashboard shall do all of the following:
(A) Provide a status report on credential attainment, training
completion, degree attainment, and participant earnings from
workforce education and training programs. The board shall publish
and distribute the final report.
(B) Provide demographic breakdowns, including, to the extent
possible, race, ethnicity, age, gender, veteran status, wage and
credential or degree outcomes, and information on workforce outcomes
in different industry sectors.
(C) Measure, at a minimum and to the extent feasible with existing
resources, the performance of the following workforce programs:
community college career technical education, the Employment Training
Panel, Title I and Title II of the federal Workforce Investment Act
of 1998, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and state apprenticeship
programs.
(D) Measure participant earnings in California, and to the extent
feasible, in other states. The Employment Development Department
shall assist the board by calculating aggregated participant earnings
using unemployment insurance wage records, without violating any
applicable confidentiality requirements.
(2) The State Department of Education is hereby authorized to
collect the social security numbers of adults participating in adult
education programs so that accurate participation in those programs
can be represented in the report card. However, an individual shall
not be denied program participation if he or she refuses to provide a
social security number. The State Department of Education shall keep
this information confidential and shall only use this information
for tracking purposes, in compliance with all applicable state and
federal law.
(3) (A) Participating workforce programs, as specified in
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), shall provide participant data in
a standardized format to the Employment Development Department.
(B) The Employment Development Department shall aggregate data
provided by participating workforce programs and shall report the
data, organized by demographics, earnings, and industry of
employment, to the board to assist the board in producing the annual
workforce metrics dashboard.
(j) The identification and dissemination of information on best
practices, including best practices for all of the following:
(1) The effective operation of one-stop centers, relating to the
use of business outreach, partnerships, and service delivery
strategies, including strategies for serving individuals with
barriers to employment.
(2) The development of effective local boards, which may include
information on factors that contribute to enabling local boards to
exceed negotiated local levels of performance, sustain fiscal
integrity, and achieve other measures of effectiveness.
(3) Effective training programs that respond to real-time labor
market analysis, that effectively use direct assessment and prior
learning assessment to measure an individual's prior knowledge,
skills, competencies, and experiences, and that evaluate such skills,
and competencies for adaptability, to support efficient placement
into employment or career pathways.
(k) The development and review of statewide policies affecting the
coordinated provision of services through the state's one-stop
delivery system described in Section 3151(e) of Title 29 of the
United States Code, including the development of all of the
following:
(1) Objective criteria and procedures for use by local boards in
assessing the effectiveness and continuous improvement of one-stop
centers described in Section 3151(e) of Title 29 of the United States
Code.
(2) Guidance for the allocation of one-stop center infrastructure
funds under Section 3151(h) of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(3) Policies relating to the appropriate roles and contributions
of entities carrying out one-stop partner programs within the
one-stop delivery system, including approaches to facilitating
equitable and efficient cost allocation in such a system.
(l) The development of strategies for technological improvements
to facilitate access to, and improve the quality of, services and
activities provided through the one-stop delivery system, including
such improvements to all of the following:
(1) Enhance digital literacy skills, as defined in Section 9101 of
Title 20 of the United States Code, referred to in this division as
"digital literacy skills."
(2) Accelerate the acquisition of skills and recognized
postsecondary credentials by participants.
(3) Strengthen the professional development of providers and
workforce professionals.
(4) Ensure the technology is accessible to individuals with
disabilities and individuals residing in remote areas.
(m) The development of strategies for aligning technology and data
systems across one-stop partner programs to enhance service delivery
and improve efficiencies in reporting on performance accountability
measures, including the design and implementation of common intake,
data collection, case management information, and performance
accountability measurement and reporting processes and the
incorporation of local input into such design and implementation, to
improve coordination of services across one-stop partner programs.
(n) The development of allocation formulas for the distribution of
funds for employment and training activities for adults, and youth
workforce investment activities, to local areas as permitted under
Sections 3163(b)(3) and 3173(b)(3) of Title 29 of the United States
Code.
(o) The preparation of the annual reports described in paragraphs
(1) and (2) of Section 3141(d) of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(p) The development of the statewide workforce and labor market
information system described in Section 49l-2(e) of Title 29 of the
United States Code.
(q) The development of such other policies as may promote
statewide objectives for, and enhance the performance of, the
workforce development system in the state.
(r) Helping individuals with barriers to employment, including
low-skill, low-wage workers, the long-term unemployed, and members of
single-parent households, achieve economic security and upward
mobility by implementing policies that encourage the attainment of
marketable skills relevant to current labor market trends.
SEC. 4. (a) Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 14000 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by both
this bill and Assembly Bill 1270. It shall only become operative if
(1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January
1, 2016, (2) each bill amends Section 14000 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill
1270, in which case Section 1 of this bill shall not become
operative.
(b) Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section
14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by both this bill
and Assembly Bill 1270. It shall only become operative if (1) both
bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016,
(2) each bill amends Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance
Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1270, in which
case Section 2 of this bill shall not become operative.
(c) Section 3.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section
14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by both this bill
and Assembly Bill 1270. It shall only become operative if (1) both
bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016,
(2) each bill amends Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance
Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1270, in which
case Section 3 of this bill shall not become operative.