BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 509 Hearing Date: July 13,
2015
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|Author: |Perea |
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|Version: |June 23, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Alma Perez-Schwab |
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Subject: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of
2009: exemptions.
KEY ISSUES
Should the Legislature exempt pre-apprenticeship programs
offered on behalf of one or more Division of Apprenticeship
Standards approved labor-management apprenticeship program from
oversight by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education if
they meet specified criteria?
Should Local Workforce Investment Boards be able to place these
pre-apprenticeship programs on the Eligible Training Provider
List - thereby allowing the use of federal workforce investment
funds to pay for these training programs and help meet their
minimum training requirements?
ANALYSIS
Existing law establishes the CA Private Postsecondary Education
Act (Act) of 2009, and requires the Bureau of Private
Postsecondary Education (Bureau) within the Department of
Consumer Affairs to, among other things, review, investigate and
approve private postsecondary institutions, programs and courses
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of instruction and authorizes the Bureau to take formal actions
against an institution/school to ensure compliance with the Act
and even seek closure of an institution/school if determined
necessary. (Education Code §94800 et seq.)
Existing law exempts the following, among others, from oversight
by the Bureau:
a) An institution offering educational programs sponsored
by a bona fide trade, business, professional, or fraternal
organization, solely for that organization's membership.
b) A postsecondary educational institution established,
operated, and governed by the federal government or by this
state or its political subdivisions.
c) An institution offering either test preparation for
examinations required for admission to a postsecondary
educational institution or continuing education or license
exam preparation, as specified.
d) An institution that does not award degrees and that
solely provides educational programs for total charges of
two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or less when no
part of the total charges is paid from state or federal
student financial aid programs.
Existing law establishes the California Workforce Investment
Board (CWIB) and charges the board with the responsibility of
developing a unified, strategic planning process to coordinate
various education, training, and employment programs into an
integrated workforce development system that supports economic
development. Existing law requires local chief elected officials
in a local workforce development area to form, pursuant to
specified guidelines, a Local Workforce Investment Board (Local
WIB) to plan and oversee the workforce investment system at the
local level. (Unemployment Insurance §1400 et al)
Existing law requires the CWIB, with input from Local WIBs and
other stakeholders, to establish initial and subsequent
eligibility criteria for the Eligible Training Provider List
(ETPL) that effectively directs training resources into programs
leading to employment in high-demand, high-priority, and
occupations that provide economic security, particularly those
facing a shortage of skilled workers. The subsequent eligibility
criteria is required to use performance and outcome measures to
determine whether a provider is qualified to remain on the list.
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This Bill would additionally exempt from the California Private
Postsecondary Education Act, preapprenticeship programs offered
by a bona fide organization, association or council that offers
programs on behalf of one or more Division of Apprenticeship
Standards approved labor-management apprenticeship programs, if
certain conditions are met.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Exempts from oversight by the Bureau of Private
Postsecondary Education labor-management preapprenticeship
programs that satisfy one of the following conditions:
a. It is not on the Eligible Training Provider
List (ETPL) established and maintained by the
California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) but has
met the requirements for placement on the list.
b. It is on the ETPL established and maintained
by the CWIB and meets the requirements for continued
listing.
2) Provides that if an organization, association, or
council has been removed from the ETPL for failure to meet
performance standards, it is not exempt under these
provisions until it meets all applicable performance
standards.
COMMENTS
1. The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA):
The federal WIOA, passed by a wide bipartisan majority and
signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 22, 2014,
provides for workforce investment activities, including
activities in which states may participate and also contains
various programs for job and employment investment, including
work incentive programs, as specified. WIOA supersedes the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and aims to modernize our
workforce development system bringing together and enhancing
several key employment, education, and training programs. WIOA
also seeks to make the workforce system more comprehensive in
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its approach to service delivery and more responsive to the
demands of our economy.
WIOA authorizes job training programs that include classroom
training, customized training, and on-the-job training.
Training funds are often distributed through vouchers to job
seekers to enroll in eligible training programs. Local
Workforce Investment Boards determine which training programs
are eligible to receive the vouchers. Existing law requires
that at least 25% of federal WIA funds provided to Local WIBs
be spent on workforce training programs. This percentage
increases to 30% beginning in 2016.
Under federal law, workforce investment funds are distributed
to the states based on formulas that consider unemployment
rates and other economic and demographic factors. California
and its 49 Local WIBs receive WIA formula funding from the
U.S. Department of Labor - 85 percent going to the Local WIBs,
with the remainder allocated for state discretionary purposes.
California receives between $350-400 million in federal WIA
dollars annually.
2. Background on the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL):
California's Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) was
established in compliance with the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 for the purpose providing customer-focused employment
training for adults and dislocated workers. The qualified
training providers on the ETPL offer a wide range of
educational programs, including classroom, correspondence,
Internet, broadcast, and apprenticeship programs. Training
providers who are eligible to receive Individual Training
Accounts (ITAs) through WIA Title I-B funds are listed on the
ETPL.
The Employment Development Department (EDD) is responsible for
accepting information on training providers from Local WIBs,
compiling a single statewide list of eligible training
providers and disseminating the statewide ETPL to local boards
for distribution and use. Programs are required to be
periodically determined as eligible to continue on the ETPL.
This determination is to be made within 18 to 24 months of
their initial listing and annually thereafter. Under existing
law, at a minimum, initial and subsequent eligibility criteria
for placement on the ETPL shall consider the following:
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a) The relevance of the training program to the
workforce needs of the state.
b) Needs to plug skills gasps and skills shortages at
the state, local and regional levels.
c) The likelihood that the training program will lead
to job placement in a job providing economic security or
job placement in an entry-level job that has a
well-articulated career pathway or career ladder to a job
providing economic security.
d) The need for basic skills and bridge training
programs that provides access to occupational skills
training for individuals with barriers to employment and
those who would otherwise be unable to enter occupational
skills training.
e) To the extent feasible, utilize criteria that
measure training and education provider performance,
including, but not limited to, the following:
a. Measures of skills or competency
attainment and program completion.
b. Measures of employment placement and
retention.
c. Measures for continued training or
education.
d. For those that have entered the labor
market, measures of income.
The Local WIBs are responsible for reviewing and verifying
applications submitted by training providers, determining if
the applicant meets the State's criteria for initial
eligibility and forwarding the information to EDD for training
providers and programs that meet the criteria. The EDD also
has the authority to remove training providers for
nonperformance.
3. Background on the CA Private Postsecondary Education Act and
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education:
After numerous legislative attempts to remedy the laws and
structure governing regulation of private postsecondary
institutions in California, AB 48 (Portantino, Chapter 310,
Statutes of 2009), established the Act and created the Bureau
for the purpose of regulating private postsecondary
educational institutions that provide educational services in
California. The Act requires all unaccredited colleges in
California to be approved by the Bureau, sets timelines for
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accreditation, and requires all nationally accredited colleges
to comply with numerous student protections. It is important
to note that not all private institutions are covered by the
Act; full and partial exemptions are provided for low-cost
programs, recreational schools, schools accredited by regional
accrediting agencies, among others.
The Bureau is required to actively investigate and combat
unlicensed activity and conduct outreach and education
activities for private postsecondary educational institutions
and students within the state. The Act establishes processes
for penalties for non-compliance, providing the Bureau
authority to perform site visits and investigations, order
fines and student tuition refunds, and ultimately suspend or
revoke an institution's approval to operate.
Exemptions: Currently, construction trades unions that are
registered with the Joint Apprenticeship and Training
Committee of the Department of Industrial Relations, Division
of Apprenticeship Standards for purposes of their apprentice
training, are exempt from the Bureau for purposes of
apprenticeship programs.
4. Apprenticeship Programs and the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards:
According to the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS),
apprenticeship is a system of learning while earning, and
"learning by doing" which combines training on the job with
related and supplemental instruction at school. Each program
operates under apprenticeship training standards in accordance
with State and Federal laws. In those crafts in which
management and labor organizations exist, each selects an
equal number of members to serve on the joint apprenticeship
committee which determines the standards for training and
supervises the training of apprentices. DAS approves and
administers apprenticeship law and enforces standards for
wages, hours, working conditions and the specific skills
required for state certification as a journeyperson in an
apprenticeable occupation.
Pre-apprenticeship services and programs are designed to
prepare individuals to enter and succeed in registered
apprenticeship programs. These programs have a documented
partnership with at least one registered apprenticeship
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program sponsor and together, they expand the participant's
career pathway opportunities with industry-based training
coupled with classroom instruction.
5. Need for this bill?
In the Employment Training Provider List - Policy and
Procedures Directive from April 2014, the Employment
Development Department states that private postsecondary
education providers must receive approval to operate from the
Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) prior to
being listed on the ETPL. This approval ensures that the
provider satisfies the BPPE statutes and enables the provider
to enroll WIA eligible students.
As noted above, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS)
has statutory authority over the approval and administration
of apprenticeship programs; however, statute doesn't include
any reference to pre-apprenticeship programs. According to the
author, DAS's legal counsel has opined that they can't
regulate pre-apprenticeship programs because statute does not
give them authority to do so. Additionally, an institution
offering educational programs sponsored by a bona fide trade
organization solely for that organization's membership is
exempt from oversight by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary
Education; this includes apprenticeship programs that are
registered with DAS for purposes of apprentice training.
According to the author, who represents the Fresno Regional
WIB which has multi-craft pre-apprentice training being
conducted by the Fresno Madera Tulare Kings Building Trades
Council, this oversight in law has created a situation where
apprenticeship programs can be registered with DAS
(essentially receiving pre-approval under the BPPE) and then
added to the ETPL, but pre-apprenticeship programs they work
with cannot because DAS doesn't have regulatory authority over
them. This bill would exempt a bona fide organization,
association, or council that offers pre-apprenticeship
training programs, on behalf of one or more DAS approved labor
managed apprenticeship from the CA Private Postsecondary
Education Act. This would allow these institutions to be
placed on the ETPL, and receive WIA funds, without having to
obtain approval from the Bureau of Private Postsecondary
Education. This will ensure that programs offering
pre-apprenticeships in conjunction with their apprenticeship
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programs are both exempt from BPPE oversight and added to the
ETPL.
Furthermore, by authorizing these pre-apprenticeship training
programs to be listed on the ETPL, it allows Local WIBs to use
federal WIA formula funds to pay for pre-apprenticeship
training in compliance with SB 734 (2012) which imposes a
minimum 25% training expenditure requirement on Local WIBs
carrying out WIA funded programs.
6. Double Referral:
This bill was previously heard and passed by the Senate
Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee.
7. Proponent Arguments :
According to the author, the WIA funds cannot be used to
conduct pre-apprenticeship programs because they are not on
the ETPL. However, the pre-apprenticeship programs are unable
to prove eligibility under the BPPE because legal counsel at
DAS has opined that pre-apprentice programs are not under
their jurisdiction. This leaves pre-apprentice training in
"limbo." The author argues that without an avenue for labor
managed pre-apprentice training to be eligible for WIA
funding, the programs go largely unfunded and Local WIB's
cannot use funding for these programs to meet their 25%
training expenditure requirement.
The California Workforce Association is sponsoring the measure
and states that it will create parity between
pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs offered by the
same institutions, as apprenticeship programs are already
exempt from the BPPE process. The CWA asserts that this bill
will simply extend the exception to pre-apprenticeship
programs operated in conjunction with high-quality
apprenticeship programs, ensuring efficiency and continuity in
institutions' pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship offerings.
Additionally, proponents state that pre-apprenticeship
programs are vital to maintaining a healthy workforce in
California since they prepare students for entrance into sate
approved apprenticeship programs. California currently has
over 500 state approved apprenticeship programs, the vast
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majority being in the building and construction trades, and
they argue that joint labor-management programs make up 90% of
these. Proponents contend that these programs must already
meet stringent oversight requirements under the auspices of
the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, and exempting them
from the Private Postsecondary Education Act will help ensure
California continues to have a skilled labor workforce.
8. Opponent Arguments :
The Associated Builders and Contractors of California are
opposed unless amended and argue that the bill strictly limits
who is provided an exemption from the CPPEA. The Labor Code
§3075(a) establishes who may sponsor an apprenticeship
program, including a joint apprenticeship committee, a
unilateral management or labor apprenticeship committee, or an
individual employer. According to ABC, they had no issue with
the bill before the recent amendments which added the
restrictive term "labor-management" to the language; they
would remove opposition if the author would replace the term
or remove the words entirely. ABC argues that without
amendments, this bill means that fully qualified and DAS
approved unilateral programs will be given a higher barrier to
overcome than the exact same program that happens to be a
"labor-management" program.
Opponents also argue that since a pre-apprenticeship program
can partner with more than one DAS approved apprenticeship
program, this bill seems to be designed to keep these
pre-apprenticeship programs from partnering with all
state-approved apprenticeship sponsors. They believe this
discriminates against otherwise qualified apprenticeship
sponsors (and pre-apprenticeship programs that would
collaborate with them) and are seeking amendments.
SUPPORT
California Workforce Association (Sponsor)
Fresno, Madera, Kings & Tulare Building & Construction Trades
Council, AFl-CIO
Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties Building and
Construction Trades Council
State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO
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OPPOSITION
Air Conditioning Trade Association
American Fire Sprinkler Association
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
Associated Builders and Contractors -San Diego Chapter
Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of California
Western Electrical Contractors Association
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