BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2696
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2696 (Bass)
          As Amended  August 2, 2010
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |72-2 |(June 2, 2010)  |SENATE: |25-11|(August 23,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2010)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    L. & E.  

           SUMMARY  :  Sets forth additional specified duties of the Green  
          Collar Jobs Council (GCJC).   

           The Senate amendments  

          1)Delete the provision that establishes a Green Collar Jobs  
            Council Account (GCJC Account) in the California State  
            Treasure;

          2)Require GCJC to analyze, rather than interpret, the regional  
            market data that it develops and collects on California's new  
            and emerging green industries workforce needs, trends, and job  
            growth; and;

          3)Require, on or before April 1of each year, beginning in 2011,  
            the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to report to  
            the Legislature on the status of GCJC activities, grants  
            awarded, and its development and implementation of green  
            workforce strategic initiative. 

          4)Authorize the Employment Development Department (EDD), upon  
            appropriation by the Legislature, to expend those moneys and  
            revenues for purposes related to the strategic initiative and  
            the award of grants, as provided.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill established a GCJC Account  
          in the State Treasury, created additional duties for the GCJC,  
          and required the CWIB to provide an annual report to the  
          Legislature on the status of the GCJC's activities.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, $200,000 to $500,000 annually depending on the amount  
          of green workforce training funds available to CWIB. 








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           COMMENTS  :  This bill is a follow-up to AB 3018 (Nunez), Chapter  
          312, Statutes of 2008, which establishes the Green Collar Jobs  
          Council (GCJC) within the CWIB.  AB 3018 specifies that the GCJC  
          is comprised of the appropriate representatives from the CWIB's  
          existing membership, including the K-12 representative, the  
          California Community Colleges representative, the Business,  
          Transportation and Housing Agency representative, the Employment  
          Development Department (EDD) representative, and other  
          appropriate members. 

          AB 3018 also requires the GCJC to develop a strategic initiative  
          to 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 convened for the first time on February 11th, 2009 (and  
          has met regularly thereafter), and adopted the following vision  
          statement:  "Over the next 18 to 24 months the Council will  
          identify and facilitate the development of the framework,  
          funding, strategies, programs policies, partnerships and  
          opportunities necessary to address the need for a highly skilled  
          and well-trained workforce in support of California's green  
          businesses and economy.  Through its work, the Council will  
          serve as a catalyst for the creation of sustainable regional  
          sector strategies that will be managed through regional  
          partnerships."

          Following the enactment of the federal American Recovery and  
          Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the GCJC has been focusing some  
          of its attention on opportunities for green collar jobs made  
          possible as a result of ARRA.

          According to the author's office statement, "With California's  
          unemployment rate at an all time high of 10.5%, California needs  
          to develop short and long term goals to put Californians back to  
          work in jobs that provide a wage.  We have an opportunity to  
          make an investment in our existing workforce training  
          infrastructure.  Under the federal ARRA, California is receiving  
          over $400 million in job training funds to be administered  
          through our existing workforce infrastructure.  No time is  
          greater than now to form partnerships with state agencies,  
          community colleges, community based organizations, and labor  








                                                                  AB 2696
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          apprenticeship programs to train a highly skilled and well  
          trained workforce to meet the needs of California's growing  
          green economy.  According to a recent report by Next 10, titled  
           California Innovation Index 2009  , since 2005 the green collar  
          job has continued to grow by 10% and business establishments by  
          2%, while job growth in other sectors has been only 1%.  With  
          the infusion of federal economic stimulus funds California  
          stands to create thousands of jobs in energy efficiency building  
          retrofits, green building, solar and green technology.  The time  
          is now to develop much needed workforce training partnerships to  
          better serve California."  
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Shannon McKinley / L. & E. / (916)  
          319-2091 


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