Amended in Senate March 9, 2015

Senate Bill No. 45

Introduced by Senator Mendoza

December 12, 2014

An act begin insert to amend Sections 14000, 14005, and 14010 of, and to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 14240) to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of, the Unemployment Insurance Code, end insert relating to begin delete economic end delete begin insert workforce end insert development.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 45, as amended, Mendoza. begin delete Economic development. end delete begin insert Workforce development: federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. end insert

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The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) authorizes workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate. The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), beginning July 1, 2015, repeals and supersedes the WIA and, among other things, requires a state, in order to receive specified allotments of federal funds and before the second full program year after July 22, 2014, to identify planning regions and require local boards and chief elected officials to prepare regional plans for those planning regions, as specified.

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The California Workforce Investment Act requires the California Workforce Investment Board to develop and update a state workforce investment plan, as specified. Existing law requires each local board to develop and submit to the Governor a comprehensive 5-year local plan in partnership with the appropriate chief local elected officials that is consistent with the state workforce investment plan.

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This bill would require the state, in conformity with WIOA and after consultation with local boards and chief elected officials, to identify planning regions. The bill would require local boards and chief elected officials to prepare regional plans for those planning regions, as specified. By imposing this requirement on local government, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the board to aid the Governor in facilitating system alignment across the core programs of WIOA, as defined, and make related and conforming changes.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Existing law provides for various economic development programs throughout the state that foster community sustainability and community and economic development. Existing law also authorizes local agencies to finance the purchase, construction, expansion, improvement, or rehabilitation of certain types of facilities.

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This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would authorize local governmental entities to use tax increment financing for the development of economic planning, infrastructure, and educational facilities.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 14000 of the end insert begin insert Unemployment Insurance
Code end insert begin insert is amended to read: end insert

14000.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in order
for California to remain prosperous and globally competitive, it
needs to have a well-educated and highly skilled workforce.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the following
principles shall guide the state’s workforce investment system:

(1) Workforce investment programs and services shall be
responsive to the needs of employers, workers, and students by
accomplishing the following:

(A) Preparing California’s students and workers with the skills
necessary to successfully compete in the global economy.

(B) Producing greater numbers of individuals who obtain
industry-recognized certificates and degrees in competitive and
emerging industry sectors and filling critical labor market skills
gaps.

(C) Adapting to rapidly changing local and regional labor
markets as specific workforce skill requirements change over time.

(D) Preparing workers for good-paying jobs that foster economic
security and upward mobility.

(2) State and local workforce investment boards are encouraged
to collaborate with other public and private institutions, including
businesses, unions, nonprofit organizations, kindergarten and
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, career technical education programs,
adult career technical education and basic skills programs,
community college career technical education and basic skills
programs, entrepreneurship training programs, where appropriate,
the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce
Development Program, and the Employment Training Panel, to
better align resources across workforce education and training
service delivery systems and build a well-articulated workforce
investment system by accomplishing the following:

(A) Adopting local and regional training and education strategies
that build on the strengths and fill the gaps in the education and
workforce development pipeline in order to address the needs of
job seekers, workers, and employers within regional labor markets
by supporting sector begin delete strategies. end delete begin insert strategies and career pathways. end insert

(B)  begin delete Leveraging end delete begin insert Building partnerships, aligning strategies, and
leveraging end insert resources across begin delete education end delete begin insert education, social services, end insert
and workforce training delivery systems to build begin insert a end insert career begin delete pathways end delete
begin insert pipeline end insert and fill critical skills gaps.

(3) Workforce investment programs and services shall be data
driven and evidence based when setting priorities, investing
resources, and adopting practices.

(4) Workforce investment programs and services shall develop
strong partnerships with the private sector, ensuring industry
involvement in needs assessment, planning, and program
evaluation.

(A) Workforce investment programs and services shall
encourage industry involvement by developing strong partnerships
with an industry’s employers and the unions that represent the
industry’s workers.

(B) Workforce investment programs and services may consider
the needs of employers and businesses of all sizes, including large,
medium, small, and microenterprises, when setting priorities,
investing resources, and adopting practices.

(5) Workforce investment programs and services shall be
outcome oriented and accountable, measuring results for program
participants, including, but not limited to, outcomes related to
program completion, employment, and earnings.

(6) Programs and services shall be accessible to employers, the
self-employed, workers, and students who may benefit from their
operation, including individuals with employment barriers, such
as persons with economic, physical, or other barriers to
employment.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 14005 of the end insert begin insert Unemployment Insurance Code end insert
begin insert is amended to read: end insert

14005.  

For purposes of this division:

(a) “Board” means the California Workforce Investment Board.

(b) “Agency” means the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency.

(c) “Career pathways,” “career ladders,” or “career lattices”
mean an identified series of positions, work experiences, or
educational benchmarks or credentials with multiple access points
that offer occupational and financial advancement within a
specified career field or related fields over time.

(d) “Cluster-based sector strategies” means methods of focusing
workforce and economic development on those sectors that have
demonstrated a capacity for economic growth and job creation in
a particular geographic area.

(e) “Data driven” means a process of making decisions about
investments and policies based on systematic analysis of data,
which may include data pertaining to labor markets.

(f) “Economic security” means, with respect to a worker, earning
a wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and, over time,
to save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement income,
based on factors such as household size, the cost of living in the
worker’s community, and other factors that may vary by region.

(g) “Evidence-based” means making use of policy research as
a basis for determining best policy practices. Evidence-based
policymakers adopt policies that research has shown to produce
positive outcomes, in a variety of settings, for a variety of
populations over time. Successful, evidence-based programs deliver
quantifiable and sustainable results. Evidence-based practices
differ from approaches that are based on tradition, belief,
convention, or anecdotal evidence.

(h) “High-priority occupations” mean occupations that have a
significant presence in a targeted industry sector or industry cluster,
are in demand by employers, and pay or lead to payment of a wage
that provides economic security.

(i) “Individual with employment barriers” means an individual
with any characteristic that substantially limits an individual’s
ability to obtain employment, including indicators of poor work
history, lack of work experience, or access to employment in
nontraditional occupations, long-term unemployment, lack of
educational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation from
high-wage and high-benefit employment, low levels of literacy or
English proficiency, disability status, or welfare dependency.

(j) “Industry cluster” means a geographic concentration or
emerging concentration of interdependent industries with direct
service, supplier, and research relationships, or independent
industries that share common resources in a given regional
economy or labor market. An industry cluster is a group of
employers closely linked by common product or services,
workforce needs, similar technologies, and supply chains in a given
regional economy or labor market.

(k) (1) “Industry or sector partnership” means a workforce
collaborative that organizes key stakeholders in a targeted industry
cluster into a working group that focuses on the workforce needs
of the targeted industry cluster. An industry or sector partnership
organizes the stakeholders connected with a specific local or
regional industry--multiple firms, labor groups, education and
training providers, and workforce and education systems--to
develop workforce development strategies within the industry.
Successful sector partnerships leverage partner resources to address
both short-term and long-term human capital needs of a particular
sector, including by analyzing current labor markets and identifying
barriers to employment within the industry, developing cross-firm
skill standards, curricula, and training programs, and developing
occupational career ladders to ensure workers of all skill levels
can advance within the industry.

(2) Industry or sector partnerships include, at the appropriate
stage of development of the partnership, all of the following:

(A) Representatives of multiple firms or employers in the
targeted industry cluster, including small-sized and medium-sized
employers when practicable.

(B) One or more representatives of state labor organizations,
central labor coalitions, or other labor organizations, except in
instances where no labor representations exists.

(C) One or more representatives of local workforce investment
boards.

(D) One or more representatives of kindergarten and grades 1
to 12, inclusive, and postsecondary educational institutions or other
training providers, including, but not limited to, career technical
educators.

(E) One or more representatives of state workforce agencies or
other entities providing employment services.

(3) An industry or sector partnership may also include
representatives from the following:

(A) State or local government.

(B) State or local economic development agencies.

(C) Other state or local agencies.

(D) Chambers of commerce.

(E) Nonprofit organizations.

(F) Philanthropic organizations.

(G) Economic development organizations.

(H) Industry associations.

(I) Other organizations, as determined necessary by the members
comprising the industry or sector partnership.

(l) “Industry sector” means those firms that produce similar
products or provide similar services using somewhat similar
business processes, and are closely linked by workforce needs,
within a regional labor market.

(m) “Local labor federation” means a central labor council that
is an organization of local unions affiliated with the California
Labor Federation or a local building and construction trades council
affiliated with the State Building and Construction Trades Council.

(n) “Sector strategies” means methods of prioritizing
investments in competitive and emerging industry sectors and
industry clusters on the basis of labor market and other economic
data indicating strategic growth potential, especially with regard
to jobs and income, and exhibit the following characteristics:

(1) Focus workforce investment in education and workforce
training programs that are likely to lead to jobs providing economic
security or to an entry-level job with a well-articulated career
pathway into a job providing economic security.

(2) Effectively boost labor productivity or reduce business
barriers to growth and expansion stemming from workforce supply
problems, including skills gaps and occupational shortages by
directing resources and making investments to plug skills gaps
and provide education and training programs for high-priority
occupations.

(3) May be implemented using articulated career pathways or
lattices and a system of stackable credentials.

(4) May target underserved communities, disconnected youths,
incumbent workers, and recently separated military veterans.

(5) Frequently are implemented using industry or sector
partnerships.

(6) Typically are implemented at the regional level where sector
firms, those employers described in subdivisions (j) and (l), often
share a common labor market and supply chains. However, sector
strategies may also be implemented at the state or local level
depending on sector needs and labor market conditions.

(o) “Workforce Investment Act of 1998” means the federal act
enacted as Public Law 105-220.

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(p) “Labor market area” means an economically integrated
geographic area within which individuals can reside and find
employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change
employment without changing their place of residence. Labor
market areas shall be identified in accordance with criteria used
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor or
similar criteria established by the Governor.

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(q) “Recognized postsecondary credential” means a credential
consisting of an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a
certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, a license recognized
by a state involved or the federal government, or an associate or
baccalaureate degree.

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(r) “Core program” means a program authorized under a core
program provision of the federal Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128).

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(s) “Core program provision” means any of the following:

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(1) Subparts 2 and 3 of Part B of Subchapter I of Chapter 32
of Title 29 of the United States Code.

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(2) Subchapter II of Chapter 32 of Title 29 of the United States
Code.

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(3) Sections 1 to 13, inclusive, of the federal Wagner-Peyser
Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 49 et seq.).

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(4) Title I of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
Sec. 720 et seq.), excluding Section 112 (29 U.S.C. 732) and Part
C (29 U.S.C. Sec. 741).

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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begin insert Section 14010 of the end insert begin insert Unemployment Insurance Code end insert
begin insert is amended to read: end insert

14010.  

The California Workforce Investment Board is the body
responsible for assisting the Governor in the development,
oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce
begin delete investment end delete system and the alignment of the education and
workforce begin delete investment end delete systems to the needs of the 21st century
economy and workforce. begin insert The board shall aid the Governor in
facilitating system alignment across the core programs of the
federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law
113-128) as well as other educational, social service,
rehabilitation, and economic development agencies the Governor
chooses to bring together in partnership. end insert

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

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begin insert Article 4 (commencing with Section 14240) is added
to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the end insert begin insert Unemployment Insurance Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

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Article begin insert 4. end insert   Regional Planning

 

begin insert 14240. end insert   

The state shall, in conformity with the federal Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128), after
consultation with local boards and chief elected officials, and
pursuant to a process consistent with the considerations described
in Section 3121(b)(1)(B) of Title 29 of the United States Code,
identify all of the following:

(a) The regions comprised of one local area aligned with the
region.

(b) The regions comprised of two or more local areas
collectively aligned with the region. These regions shall be referred
to as planning regions, consistent with Section 3102 of Title 29 of
the United States Code.

(c) The regions identified pursuant to subdivision (b) that are
interstate areas contained within two or more states and consist
of labor market areas, economic development areas, or other
appropriate contiguous subareas of those states.

begin insert 14241. end insert   

(a) The local boards and chief elected officials in each
planning region described in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section
14240 shall engage in a regional planning process that results in
all of the following:

(1) The preparation of a regional plan, as described in
subdivision (b).

(2) The establishment of regional service strategies, including
the use of cooperative service delivery agreements.

(3) The development and implementation of sector initiatives
for in-demand industry sectors or occupations for the region.

(4) The collection and analysis of regional labor market data,
in conjunction with the state.

(5) The establishment of administrative cost arrangements,
including the pooling of funds for administrative costs, as
appropriate, for the region.

(6) The coordination of transportation and other supportive
services, as appropriate, for the region.

(7) The coordination of services with regional economic
development services and providers.

(8) The establishment of an agreement concerning how the
planning region will collectively negotiate and reach agreement
with the Governor on local levels of performance for, and report
on, the performance accountability measures described in Section
3141(c) of Title 29 of the United States Code for local areas or
the planning region.

(b) The state, after consultation with local boards and chief
elected officials for the planning regions, shall require the local
boards and chief elected officials within a planning region to
prepare, submit, and obtain approval of a single regional plan
that includes a description of the activities described in subdivision
(a) and incorporates local plans for each of the local areas in the
planning region. The state shall provide technical assistance and
labor market data, as requested by local areas, to assist with the
regional planning and subsequent service delivery efforts.

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begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

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No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
this act implements a federal law or regulation and results only
in costs mandated by the federal government, within the meaning
of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

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SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would authorize local governmental entities,
including, but not limited to, cities, counties, and cities and
counties, to use tax increment financing for the development of
economic planning, infrastructure, and educational facilities.

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CORRECTIONS:

Heading--Last amended date.

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