BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 509


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          Date of Hearing:  May 6, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          509 (Perea) - As Amended April 23, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill, exempts from regulation under the Private  
          Postsecondary Education Act, an entity offering  
          preapprenticeship training programs that are either:









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          1)On the California Workforce Investment Board's (WIB's)  
            Eligible Trainer Provider List (ETPL) and meet requirements  
            for continued listing; or


          2)Not on the ETPL but has met the requirements for placement on  
            the list.


          The bill also stipulates that any entity removed from the ETPL  
          for failure to meet performance standards is not exempt from the  
          Act until it meets the standards.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Any costs to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education  
          (BPPE) will be minor and absorbable.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background. The Act provides a variant of specific exemptions  
            from oversight by the BPPE, including for educational programs  
            sponsored by a bona fide trade, business, professional, or  
            fraternal organization, solely for that organization's  
            membership. Construction trades unions registered with the  
            Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee of the state  
            Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Apprenticeship  
            Standards (DAS), for purposes of their apprentice training,  
            are exempt from the Bureau for purposes of these  
            apprenticeship programs.


            Under the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), states are  
            required to establish a list of providers eligible to receive  








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            WIA funds for training services provided to WIA clients. In  
            California, this statewide directory is known as the Eligible  
            Training Provider List (ETPL), which is under the auspices of  
            the state's WIB.  





            Among other program quality and performance based provisions,  
            WIB requires private postsecondary educational providers to  
            have an Approval to Operate from the Bureau prior to being  
            listed on the ETPL.  Alternatively, an institution that is  
            exempt from Bureau oversight, such as the DAS-approved  
            apprenticeship programs, may provide verification that the  
            provider is exempt from the Act.


          2)Purpose. According to the author, the Fresno Regional  
            Workforce Investment Board's multi-craft preapprentice  
            training is a consortium of the regional building trades  
            unions. The consortia is not approved by the DAS for purposes  
            of the preapprentice program and, because they are providing  
            preapprenticeship programs to students beyond their own  
            membership, they do not fall under existing exemptions  
            provided in the Act, and are thus required to obtain Bureau  
            approval prior to being placed on the ETPL.  The author argues  
            that building trades council organizations are not private  
            postsecondary educational institutions and should not be  
            subject to the provisions of the Act or oversight by the  
            Bureau. 


            This bill, as recently amended, require such preapprenticeship  
            training programs, in order to obtain and maintain exemption  
            from the Ac, to qualify for initial and continued placement on  
            the ETPL.










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          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081