BILL ANALYSIS
AB 3018
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 9, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Sandre Swanson, Chair
AB 3018 (Nunez) - As Introduced: February 22, 2008
SUBJECT : California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Green Collar Jobs Council to perform
specified tasks related to addressing the workforce needs that
accompany California's growing green economy. Specifically,
this bill :
1 Establishes a working group known as the Green Collar Jobs
Council (Council) as in intergovernmental partnership.
2)Specifies that, pursuant to this working group, the Secretary
of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, in consultation
with representatives from the Community College Chancellor's
Office, University of California Board of Regents, State
Department of Education, Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Department of Veterans Affairs, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Environmental
Protection Agency, as well as energy, alternative fuels,
consumer, financial, labor, environmental justice, and other
groups, shall develop a comprehensive array of programs,
strategies, and resources to address the workforce needs that
accompany California's growing green economy.
3)Specifies that the Council shall develop the framework,
funding strategies, programs and opportunities to address the
growing need for a highly skilled and well-trained workforce
to meet the needs of California's emerging green economy.
4)Requires the Council to do all of the following:
a) Assist in identifying and linking green collar job
opportunities with workforce development training
opportunities in the various regions of the state.
b) Create public, private, and nongovernmental partnerships
to build and expand the state's workforce development
programs, network, and infrastructure.
c) Establish job training programs in the clean and green
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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.
d) Develop statewide and regional labor market data on
California's new and emerging green industries workforce
needs, trends, and job growth.
5)Makes related legislative findings and declarations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill creates a Green Collar Jobs Council to
develop a comprehensive approach to address California's
emerging workforce needs associated with its growing "green"
economy.
What Are "Green Jobs" and/or "Green Collar Jobs?"
Over the last several years, much policy debate has centered
around discussions of the need for "green jobs" or "green collar
jobs." This attention has been particularly acute in
California, which in many ways leads the nation both in terms of
environmental and workforce development policies. In fact, over
a dozen bills have been introduced in the Legislature this year
that in some way attempt to address the issue of "green jobs."
Therefore, in order to engage in a productive policy discussion
about these issues, it is important at the outset to discuss
what the terms "green jobs" or "green collar jobs" are currently
held to mean.
One recent report defines "green collar jobs" as follows:
"Green-collar jobs, as we define them, are well-paid,
career track jobs that contribute
directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality.
Like traditional blue-collar
jobs, green-collar jobs range from low-skill, entry-level
positions to high-skill, higher-
paid jobs, and include opportunities for advancement in
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both skills and wages."<1>
Another report identifies "green collar jobs" as
"family-supporting jobs that contribute significantly to
preserving or enhancing environmental quality. Defined more by
industry than by occupation, they reside primarily in the
sectors that make up the clean energy economy - efficiency,
renewables, alternative transportation, and fuels."<2> Another
study identified the following twenty-two sectors of the
American economy that currently provide workers with green
collar jobs:
1 Bicycle repair and bike delivery services.
2) Car and truck mechanic jobs, production jobs, and
gas-station jobs related to bio-diesel, vegetable oil and
other alternative fuels.
3) Energy retrofits to increase energy efficiency and
conservation.
4) Food production using organic and/or sustainably grown
agricultural products.
5) Furniture making from environmentally certified and
recycled wood.
6) Green building.
7) Green waste composting on a large scale.
8) Hauling and reuse of construction and demolition
materials and debris.
9) Hazardous materials clean up.
10) Green (sustainable) landscaping.
11) Manufacturing jobs related to large scale production of
a wide range of appropriate technologies (i.e. solar
panels, bike cargo systems, green waste bins, etc.)
12) Materials reuse/producing products made from recycled,
non-toxic materials.
13) Non-toxic household cleaning in residential and
commercial buildings.
14) Parks and open space maintenance and expansion.
--------------------------
<1> Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities: Building Pathways Out
of Poverty and Careers in the Clean Energy Economy. Apollo
Alliance and Green For All: 3 (2008).
<2> Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the
Clean Energy Economy. By Sarah White and Jason Walsh. Center on
Wisconsin Strategy, The Workforce Alliance, The Apollo Alliance.
2008, p.6.
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15) Printing with non-toxic inks and dyes and recycled
papers.
16) Public transit jobs.
17) Recycling.
18) Solar installation and maintenance.
19) Tree cutting and pruning.
20) Peri-urban and urban agriculture.
21) Water retrofits to increase water efficiency and
conservation.
22) Whole home performance (i.e: HVAC, attic insulation,
weatherization, etc.)<3>
Regardless of the specific definition used, many advocates agree
that "green collar jobs" must provide opportunities for
long-term advancement, growth and self-sufficiency. As one
report notes, "Put simply, if a job improves the environment,
but doesn't provide a family-supporting wage or a career ladder
to move low-income workers into higher-skilled occupations, it
is not a green-collar job."<4> Or, as one commentator put it:
"A green job is a good job?infused in all discussions of
the clean energy economy
is a green vision of a stronger environment and a stronger
American middle class. If
we focus only on environmental content, to the exclusion of
job quality, we risk
affirming day laborers installing solar panels without job
security or proper training,
minimum wage workers toiling in a clean tech manufacturing
facility without healthcare
or the right to organize, and youth pushing brooms at a
green building site without
training or opportunity for advancement."<5>
The Federal Green Jobs Act of 2007
---------------------------
<3> Pinderhughes, Raquel. Green Collar Jobs: Work Force
Opportunities in the Growing Green Economy, Race, Poverty & The
Economy . Volume 13, No. 1, Summer 2006.
<4> Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities: Building Pathways Out
of Poverty and Careers in the Clean Energy Economy. Apollo
Alliance and Green For All: 3 (2008).
<5> Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the
Clean Energy Economy. By Sarah White and Jason Walsh. Center on
Wisconsin Strategy, The Workforce Alliance, The Apollo Alliance.
2008, p.6.
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The Green Jobs Act of 2007 authorized $125 million per year to
create the "Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program" as an
amendment to the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Green Jobs Act (Act) is an
initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop
training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of
industries - including energy efficient building, construction
and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient
vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable
products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It
targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a
special focus on creating "green pathways out of poverty."
The Green Jobs Act became Title X of the Energy Independence and
Security Act (often referred to as the "2007 Energy Bill"),
which Congress passed and the President signed in late 2007.
The Program will be administered by the U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL) in consultation with the Department of Energy.
The bill was sponsored in the House by Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)
and Rep. John Tierney (D- MA), with significant support from
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The
Senate version was sponsored by Senators Sanders (D-VT) and
Clinton (D-NY).
While funds were authorized for the Act, they have not yet been
appropriated by Congress. By most estimates, this means that
funding will have to be secured in the next appropriations cycle
(which will not be completed until late 2008). It is therefore
possible that funds may not be available until at least 2009.
The Act authorizes spending for five related green job programs.
The programs within the Green Jobs Act are as follows:
1 National Research Program (10 percent of total appropriation)
- The Department of Labor (DOL), acting through the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, will collect and analyze the labor market
data necessary to track workforce trends and identify the
types of skills and green jobs we need to train people for.
The DOL will use this information to provide technical
assistance and capacity building to the training partnerships
described below. 10 percent of the amount appropriated will be
dedicated to this program ($12.5 million if fully funded).
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2)National Energy Training Partnership Grants (30 percent) - DOL
will award competitive grants to non-profit partnerships to
carry out training that leads to economic self-sufficiency and
to develop an energy efficiency and renewable energy
industries workforce. The partnerships must include the equal
participation of industry and labor, and may include related
stakeholders like local workforce investments boards,
educational institutions, and community-based organizations.
30 percent of the amount appropriated will be dedicated to
these grants ($37.5 million if fully funded).
3)State Labor Market Research, Information, and Labor Exchange
Research Program (10 percent) - DOL will award competitive
grants to states to administer labor market and labor exchange
information programs, in coordination with the one-stop
delivery system. Activities will also include the
identification of job openings; the administration of skill
and aptitude testing; and counseling, case management, and job
referrals. These programs will be administered by the state
agency that administers the employment service and
unemployment insurance programs and services can only be
delivered by state agency staff. 10 percent of the amount
appropriated will be dedicated to this program ($12.5 million
if fully funded).
4)State Energy Training Partnership Program (30 percent) - DOL
will award competitive grants to states to enable them to
administer, via the state agency that administers their
employment service and unemployment insurance programs,
renewable energy and energy efficiency workforce development
programs. It will award grants to partnerships that
essentially mirror the national partnerships in their make-up.
Priority will be given to states that demonstrate that their
activities meet state and national policies associated with
energy efficiency, renewable energy and reduction of
emissions. 30 percent of the amount appropriated will be
dedicated to this program ($37.5 million if fully funded).
5)Pathways Out Of Poverty Demonstration Program (20 percent) -
DOL will award competitive grants to training partnerships
that serve individuals under 200% of the federal poverty line
or a locally defined self-sufficiency standard. The
partnerships must include community-based organizations,
educational institutions, industry, and labor; demonstrate
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experience implementing training programs and recruit and
support participants to the successful completion of training;
and coordinate activities with the WIA system. In awarding
grants, priority will be given to partnerships that target
low-income adults and youth and plan to implement various
strategies that enable access to, and successful completion
of, training, including ensuring that supportive services are
delivered by organizations with direct access to and
experience with targeted populations. 20 percent of the amount
appropriated will be dedicated to this demonstration ($25
million if fully funded).
Proposals Set Forth in This Legislation
In order to coordinate and facilitate policy discussion of this
current trend, this bill proposes to establish a working group
known as the Green Collar Jobs Council (Council) as in
intergovernmental partnership.
Specifically, the bill provides that the Secretary of the Labor
and Workforce Development Agency, in consultation with
representatives from the Community College Chancellor's Office,
University of California Board of Regents, State Department of
Education, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
Department of Veterans Affairs, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, California Environmental Protection Agency, as well
as energy, alternative fuels, consumer, financial, labor,
environmental justice, and other groups, shall develop a
comprehensive array of programs, strategies, and resources to
address the workforce needs that accompany California's growing
green economy.
The bill specifies that the Council shall develop the framework,
funding strategies, programs and opportunities to address the
growing need for a highly skilled and well-trained workforce to
meet the needs of California's emerging green economy. The bill
also requires the Council to: (1) assist in identifying and
linking green collar job opportunities with workforce
development training opportunities in the various regions of the
state; (2) create public, private, and nongovernmental
partnerships to build and expand the state's workforce
development programs, network, and infrastructure; (3) establish
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
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individuals, and others facing barriers to employment; and (4)
develop statewide and regional labor market data on California's
new and emerging green industries workforce needs, trends, and
job growth.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
According to the author, when Assembly Bill 32 (the "Global
Warming Solutions Act") was making its way through the
legislative process, UC Berkeley estimated that the bill would
result in some 83,000 new "green" jobs by 2020. Similarly, a
report issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council entitled
"Creating the California Cleantech Cluster" estimated that by
2010, capital investments in California could see the creation
of between 52,000 and 114,000 green jobs with a corresponding
$11.2 billion to $25.3 billion in annual revenue.
Therefore, the author argues that, with green capital investment
increasing throughout the state, the jobs created by this level
of investment are also going to dramatically increase. It is
necessary for a structure to be put in place that will provide
linkages to and coordination with the various public and private
entities and programs designed to provide the workforce training
opportunities to meet California's green economy needs.
The author states that many recent studies by labor
organizations, academics, state agencies and environmental
groups that have analyzed the growing California "green" and
clean tech economy make reference to the need for more "green"
collar jobs. Although several state, local, federal, private
and non-governmental organizations focus on this issue, there is
no coordinated and comprehensive administrative infrastructure
to facilitate the efforts of these organizations. Public and
private partnerships play an important role developing
strategies, training programs and funding for workforce training
and needs. With the "green" economy creating numerous job
opportunities, there needs to be a public-private partnership in
place to address funding and linkages between state agencies,
community colleges, the UC and CSU systems, K-12 education,
labor organizations, non-profits and community organizations.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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Bloom Energy
California Apollo Alliance
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Community Fuels
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Green for All
Small Business California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091