Amended in Assembly August 25, 2016

Amended in Assembly August 23, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 46

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Brown, Calderon, Campos, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Mark Stone, Waldron, Weber, Williams, and Wood)

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June 23, 2016

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 46—Relative to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 46, as amended, Bonta. Unemployment: Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act.

This measure would request that the United States Congress modify the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act state allotment formula to include unemployment rates by race and ethnicity.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Legislature acknowledges that California’s
economy has significantly improved since the Great Recession,
with unemployment rates down to 5.4 percent in March 2016,
according to the Employment Development Department. California
has added 2,134,400 jobs since the recovery began in February
2010; and

WHEREAS, The Legislative Analyst’s Office notes that while
unemployment rates are improving, California still has the second
highest unemployment rate in the United States, an indicator of
the depth of job loss experienced during the great recession and
the size of California’s economy; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Labor, in
coordination with the United States Department of Education and
Department of Health and Human Services, is working diligently
to ensure that states, local areas, other grantees, and stakeholders
are prepared for the implementation of the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunities Act (WIOA), signed by President Obama on
July 22, 2014; and

WHEREAS, The Public Policy Institute of California also found
that while jobs have been growing for five continuous years, 45
percent of Californians believed economic bad times were likely
in 2015, while only 44 percent predicted good times; and

WHEREAS, Pew Charitable Trusts found that California ranked
among the bottom 10 states in bringing people 25 through 54 years
of age back to employment. In 2014, 73.6 percent of California’s
prime working population had jobs compared with 77.9 percent
in 2007; and

WHEREAS, California’s economy generates jobs at a rate
similar to the national rate, but it is not enough to keep up with
the state’s fast-growing population; and

WHEREAS, California has also had an uneven economic
recovery, with the coastal regions rebounding with more economic
vigor relative to inland areas of the state. However, employment
disparities continue to persist at a city level even in counties that
have high rates of economic and job growth; and

WHEREAS, The San Francisco bay area as a region is closest
to closing the employment gap since 2007, while county averages
continue to hide persistent unemployment among certain
populations. In Alameda County, where unemployment dropped
to 4.3 percent in March 2016, African-American and Latino
unemployment in the City of Oakland is still high at 18 percent
and 16 percent, respectively; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature recommends that the United States
Congress implement a racial equity lens when structuring
workforce investment proposal requirements under the WIOA to
ensure that unemployment rates are analyzed from multiple
perspectives and not only average unemployment rates; and

WHEREAS, For every dollar of wealth a median Caucasian
household has, a median Asian household has about 81 cents, a
median Hispanic family has 7 cents, and a median
African-American family has 6 cents. The disparity in employment
exists not just by region in California, but also by race; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the United
States Congress modify the WIOA state allotment formula to
include unemployment rates by race and ethnicity. In making this
change, no community in California shall receive less funds under
WIOA. This change is intended to better reflect the employment
conditions in states with high levels of income inequality and bring
more funding to address the real workforce needs of the population;
and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.