BILL NUMBER: AB 3018 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 312
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2008
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2008
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 14, 2008
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 4, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nunez
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Bass and De Leon)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Davis, De La Torre, Eng, Hancock,
Laird, Leno, Mullin, Price, Ruskin, Solorio, and Swanson)
FEBRUARY 22, 2008
An act to add Division 8 (commencing with Section 15000) to the
Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to job training.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3018, Nunez. California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008: green
jobs.
Existing law contains various programs for job training and
employment investment.
This bill would set forth legislative findings and declarations
relating to the state's green economy and the increasing demand for a
highly skilled and well-trained green collar workforce, and would
enact the California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008 requiring the
California Workforce Investment Board to establish the Green Collar
Jobs Council that shall, in consultation with representatives from
various public and private groups, develop a comprehensive array of
programs, strategies, and resources to address the workforce needs
that accompany California's growing green economy and to establish,
among other programs, green job training programs for eligible
individuals, as provided.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 8 (commencing with Section 15000) is added to
the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
DIVISION 8. California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008
15000. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008.
15001. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The State of California has long been a national and
international leader on environmental, natural resource, pollution
prevention, and energy issues, as well as recent landmark laws in the
areas of climate change, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and
alternative transportation fuels.
(2) The passage of these laws has resulted in billions of dollars
of investment capital flowing into the State of California for
research, development, and commercialization of new green and clean
technologies. This investment of capital is indicative of the rapidly
growing clean and green technology sector of the California economy.
(3) The California Economic Strategy Panel has identified
California's economy as an economy of regions. The panel also adopted
a new way of looking at industry sectors and how they function and
grow as industry clusters. California's green economy is about the
potential of new technologies combined with innovative public policy
and strategic investments to stimulate the growth of new markets for
green products and services.
(4) As the green economy grows, it will be accompanied by an
increased demand for a highly skilled and well-trained "green collar"
workforce.
(5) California state government must act promptly to build the
partnerships, expand the programs, and secure the resources necessary
to meet our green workforce needs. This effort must involve both our
K-12 and higher education systems, labor unions, the environmental
community, workforce development programs, nongovernmental
organizations, philanthropy, and private sector industries.
(6) In acknowledgment of the tremendous size of California's
economy and related infrastructure, the application of sector
strategies in a wide variety of industry sectors is essential to
providing labor for industry and career paths for current and
potential employees. The California Workforce Investment Board shall
adopt a sector strategy approach in responding to industry sector
workforce and economic development needs. This strategy will ensure
industry has a qualified workforce and can offer opportunities for
employment, training, and career advancement for all Californians.
The initial drive of this sector strategy approach will be the
California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008.
15002. (a) The California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) shall
establish a special committee known as the Green Collar Jobs Council
(GCJC), comprised of the appropriate representatives from the CWIB
existing membership, including the K-12 representative, the
California Community Colleges representative, the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency representative, the Employment
Development Department representative, and other appropriate members.
The CWIB may call on other state agencies, other higher education
representatives, and industry representatives as well as
philanthropic, nongovernmental, and environmental groups as
appropriate and necessary to serve as consultants to the GCJC in the
development of this strategic initiative.
(b) As part of the strategic initiative the GCJC shall identify
and develop the framework, funding, strategies, programs, policies,
partnerships, and opportunities necessary to address the growing need
for a highly skilled and well-trained workforce to meet the needs of
California's emerging green economy. The GCJC shall do all of the
following:
(1) Assist in identifying and linking green collar job
opportunities with workforce development training opportunities in
local workforce investment areas (LWIAs), encouraging regional
collaboration among LWIAs to meet regional economic demands.
(2) Develop public, private, philanthropic, and nongovernmental
partnerships to build and expand the state's workforce development
programs, network, and infrastructure.
(3) Provide policy guidance for job training programs in the clean
and green technology sectors to assist and prepare specific
populations, such as at-risk youth, displaced workers, veterans,
formerly incarcerated individuals, and others facing barriers to
employment.
(4) Develop, collect, interpret, and distribute statewide and
regional labor market data on California's new and emerging green
industries workforce needs, trends, and job growth.
(5) Identify funding resources and make recommendations on how to
expand and leverage these funds.
(6) Foster regional collaboratives in the green economic sector.
15003. On or before April 1, 2009, and each April 1 yearly
thereafter, the CWIB shall report to the Legislature on the status of
GCJC activities and its development of a green workforce strategic
initiative.