Report Title:

Hawaii Workforce Development Council; Duties; Appropriation

Description:

Amends the composition of the workforce development council. Amends the duties of the Hawaii workforce development council to include job training program funding disbursal and a determination of the actual time required to complete these programs. Appropriates funds. (SD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1865

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to EDUCATION workforce development pipeline.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. In its response to H.C.R. 112, H.D. 1 (2004), "Requesting the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the Workforce Development Council to Report to the Legislature Regarding the Identification and Development of Labor Supply and Demand Matrices, and the Expansion of the Educational Pipeline Subsequent to the Enactment of Act 148, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003," the workforce development council planning committee stressed the need that "[m]ore people must enter and continue in Hawaii's pipeline to post-secondary education, as the future jobs generally require education beyond high school." The committee's response also made recommendations to address immediate labor shortages as well as long-term labor supply needs.

These efforts could be assisted if the workforce development council's comprehensive state plan could include provisions aligning job training and education programs in the K-12 grades and post-secondary settings with the verifiable needs of the State's evolving labor market, as well as by gaining a sense of whether participants in such programs are completing them within the time specified as typical by the program administrators.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Amend the composition of the workforce development council;

(2) Require the workforce development council to include in its comprehensive state plan for workforce development recommendations for:

(A) A means of disbursal of legislative funding for job training and education in high-demand areas; and

(B) An assessment of the length of time for completion of certain job training or educational programs; and

(3) Appropriate funding for job training and education programs of the department of education and the University of Hawaii.

SECTION 2. Section 202-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§202-1 Council; appointment; tenure. The advisory commission on employment and human resources is hereby constituted as the workforce development council. The council shall also fulfill the functions of the state workforce investment board for purposes of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Public Law No. 105-220.

Except for the ex officio members or their designees, the council members shall be appointed for four-year staggered terms as provided for in section 26-34. The governor shall appoint the chairperson of the council and the two mayors to the council. The council shall be composed of thirty-one members. The members shall be selected on the basis of their interest in and knowledge of workforce development programs in the State and how they can support economic development. The council shall be composed of the following representatives of which the majority shall be from the private sector:

(1) The directors of labor and industrial relations, human services, and business, economic development, and tourism; the superintendent of education; and the president of the University of Hawaii or their designees, as ex officio voting members;

(2) The private business sector chairpersons of the four county workforce investment boards, or their designees from the private business sector membership of their respective boards, as ex officio voting members;

[(2) Sixteen] (3) Twelve additional private sector representatives from business[, including at least one member from each of the four county workforce development boards];

[(3)] (4) One representative from a community-based native Hawaiian organization that operates workforce development programs;

[(4)] (5) Two representatives from labor;

[(5)] (6) Four members of the legislature, two from each house[,] for two-year terms beginning in January of odd-numbered years, appointed by the appropriate presiding officer of each house, as ex officio voting members;

[(6)] (7) Two mayors or their designees, as ex officio voting members; and

[(7)] (8) The governor or the governor's designee.

The members shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to travel expenses when actually engaged in business relating to the work of the council."

SECTION 3. Section 202-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§202-2 Duties of council. The workforce development council shall:

(1) Prepare and update periodically a comprehensive state plan for workforce development with strategic goals and measurable outcomes. The comprehensive state plan shall include:

(A) Strategic goals of workforce development programs, including the identification of the desired number of highly skilled workers in the workforce, the number of placements of individuals into higher-skilled jobs, the identification of high-demand areas for job growth, the need for skilled workers in the next five and ten years, and the time frame for training and development;

(B) Methods to educate the private sector about state, federal, and private financial assistance available for workforce development;

(C) Methods to facilitate access to workforce development resources, including the reduction of regulatory burdens for employers and employees;

(D) The creation and improvement of educational opportunities for individuals to learn and develop new skills, including mentoring, project-based learning, and internships;

(E) Methods to facilitate the department of education's development of curriculum in the public schools to prepare students for employment in the private sector;

(F) Recommendations to change and improve existing state programs, including the elimination of ineffective programs and the creation of new programs to improve workforce development;

(G) The identification of resources required, obstacles to overcome, and best practice models to implement the comprehensive state strategic plan; [and]

(H) A means by which funding appropriated by the legislature can be disbursed to department of education schools or accredited institutions of higher education to provide job training or education in high-demand areas for job growth in a manner that is aligned with concrete, documentable labor shortages;

(I) An assessment of the actual time required by individuals to complete job training or education programs, selected by the council as a representative of these programs statewide, as compared to the projected time required to complete these programs; and

[(H)] (J) A detailed budget for the comprehensive state plan with a justification for each expenditure;

(2) Review and assess the coordination between the State's workforce development programs, including programs of the federal government operating in the State, and placements in higher-skilled jobs to expand economic development and diversification; and consider:

(A) The State's employment and training requirements and resources;

(B) Practices of employers and unions that impede or facilitate the mobility of workers; and

(C) The special problems of untrained and inexperienced youth, immigrants, persons with disabilities, welfare clients, single parents, disadvantaged minorities, and other groups facing barriers in the labor force;

(3) Serve as an information clearinghouse for all workforce development programs in the State, including workforce training and education programs[;] in such a manner as to create and implement a circular, mutually reinforcing mechanism that provides workforce training data to educational stakeholders and education data to workforce training stakeholders in a timely manner;

(4) Analyze and interpret workforce information, particularly changes which are likely to occur during the next ten years; the specific industries, occupations, and geographic areas which are most likely to be involved; and the social and economic effects of these developments on the State's economy, labor force, communities, families, social structure, and human values;

(5) Define those areas of unmet workforce and economic development needs and describe how private and public agencies can coordinate their efforts and collaborate with each other to address those needs;

(6) Recommend to the governor and the legislature, state policies and funding priorities based on local community input that it believes should be adopted by the state government in meeting its workforce development responsibilities to:

(A) Establish a workforce development system in the State in which resources are pooled and programs are coordinated and streamlined;

(B) Establish reporting requirements for job placement results by category of occupations in high-demand and high-growth areas;

(C) Encourage a program of useful research into the State's workforce requirements, development, and utilization; and

(D) Support recommended workforce policies that promote economic development, diversification, and well-being of the people in this State;

provided that the duties and responsibilities of the workforce development council shall not impinge on the constitutional and statutory authority of the board of regents and the board of education, and the statutory authority of the state board for career and technical education;

(7) Create public awareness and understanding of the State's workforce development plans, policies, programs, and activities, and promoting them as economic investments;

(8) Submit annual reports of its activities and recommendations to the governor and the legislature, and post the annual reports electronically on the Internet no later than twenty days before the convening of each regular session. Annual reports shall include:

(A) The status of the comprehensive state plan for workforce development; and

(B) Information regarding the workforce development programs offered throughout the State, the number of individuals placed in high-demand or high-growth employment through workforce development programs by departments, the type or category of employment garnered, and allocations of state, federal, and other funding to achieve placements into higher-skilled jobs;

(9) Evaluate the state workforce development plan in terms of how its purposes, goals, and objectives have been carried out throughout the State;

(10) Provide technical assistance to local workforce development boards and other similar organizations;

(11) Carry out required functions and duties related to workforce development of any advisory body required or made optional by federal legislation, including the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, as amended, and the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, as amended;

(12) In accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Public Law 105-220, assist the governor in the following functions:

(A) The development of the State's plan for the use of federal workforce investment funds, which is required under Public Law 105-220;

(B) The development and continuous improvement of the statewide and local workforce investment systems described in subtitle B of Public Law 105-220, and the one-stop delivery systems described in section 134(c) of Public Law 105-220, including:

(i) The development of linkages referred to in Public Law 105-220, to assure coordination and non-duplication among the programs and activities in section 121(b) of Public Law 105-220; and

(ii) The review of plans prepared by local workforce investment boards for the use of federal workforce investment funds which is required under Public Law 105-220;

(C) Commenting at least once annually on the measures taken pursuant to section 122(c)(16) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Amendments of 1998, Public Law 105-332;

(D) The designation of local areas as required in section 116 of Public Law 105-220;

(E) The development of allocation formulas for the distribution of funds for adult employment and training activities and youth activities to local areas as permitted under sections 128(b)(3)(B)(i) and 133(b)(3)(B)(i) of Public Law 105-220;

(F) 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 as required under section 136(b)(1) of Public Law 105-220;

(G) The preparation of the annual report to the United States Secretary of Labor described in section 136(d)(1) of Public Law 105-220;

(H) The development of the statewide employment statistics system described in section 15(e) of the Wagner-Peyser Act; and

(I) The development of an application for an incentive grant under section 503 of Public Law 105-220; and

(13) Act as the designated state entity to conduct activities relating to occupational and employment information for vocational and technical education programs in compliance with section 118 of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Amendments of 1998, Public Law 105-332."

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for job training and education programs of the department of education.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for job training and education programs of the University of Hawaii.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050; provided that sections 4 and 5 shall be effective on July 1, 2060.