BILL ANALYSIS
AB 35
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Date of Hearing: January 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 35 (Furutani) - As Amended: January 4, 2010
SUBJECT : Education: workforce preparation
SUMMARY : Requires the California Postsecondary Education
Commission (CPEC) to develop a strategic plan for connecting
education and workforce development. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes Legislative intent to enact legislation to develop
a strategic plan in the education system for workforce
preparation and career technical education in California.
2)Requires CPEC to work with the State Department of Education
(SDE), the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) and
representatives from education, business and labor
organizations to develop a strategic plan regarding the
contribution of academic and career technical education to
workforce development.
3)Requires the strategic plan to address the current state
collection of data on future workforce needs and appropriate
measures for improving data collection, the alignment of
workforce needs with future postsecondary education programs
and capacity, strategies for fostering long-term improvements
in workers' skills and knowledge, and methods for closing the
skills gap and strengthening the nexus between education and
the workforce.
4)Establishes Legislative intent that CPEC solicit input from
K-12 and postsecondary education institutions, local workforce
investment boards, and other appropriate governmental entities
in developing the recommendations for the strategic plan.
5)Requires CPEC to report its recommendations for the strategic
plan to the Governor and the Legislature on or before July 1,
2011.
EXISTING LAW establishes CPEC as the state's central body
responsible for coordination and planning for California's
postsecondary education system; establishes SDE to enforce laws
and regulations governing the state's K-12 public school system;
AB 35
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and, establishes, pursuant to Executive Order, CWIB to assist
the Governor in setting workforce development policy.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Purpose of this bill : According to the author, the
current method of workforce preparation has great potential to
address the individual needs of a diverse population. However,
the author asserts that more can be done to strengthen the
coordination between California Community Colleges, adult
education, high school career technical programs, and California
Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs). The author notes that many
agencies are involved in workforce development planning, but
these agencies fail to work cohesively, resulting in a lack of
statewide direction and coordination on workforce development.
The author argues that, by requiring lead agencies involved in
education to work together on a strategic plan for workforce
development, this bill will "begin the conversation and
reevaluation of the state's method of educating and training the
majority of the workforce."
Existing CPEC recommendations : Several recent CPEC reports
focus on workforce development and provide policy
recommendations for improving linkages between education and
career preparation. These recommendations include: compiling
and disseminating "Best Practices" for partnerships; engaging
the postsecondary segments in state-level collaborative
discussions regarding focusing research and planning activities
on workforce needs; increasing the focus in both K-12 and
postsecondary education on career development; improving data
linkages between K-12, postsecondary education, and the
Employment Development Department; assisting and encouraging
regional workforce strategies; and securing adequate resources
to support ongoing collaborative efforts. Committee staff
understands that the intent of the author is not to duplicate
existing research but to create a strategic plan that builds
upon available research and recommendations and serve as a
foundation for continued collaboration and long-term workforce
planning in California.
Legislation may be unnecessary : The Committee may wish to
consider if legislation is necessary. The author may make a
request directly to CPEC for the research required by this bill;
legislation is not necessary. Additionally, as noted above,
several recent CPEC reports focus on workforce development and
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may address some of the research components outlined in this
legislation.
Funding for new research projects : Budget cuts to CPEC in
recent years have reduced CPEC's ability to undertake new
research and reporting requirements without dedicated funding
sources. This bill does not provide funding to CPEC for the
duties required in this bill. CPEC has indicated to committee
staff that it would be very difficult to fulfill the role
outlined in this legislation without additional funding or major
changes to CPEC's existing workload mandates.
Prior legislation : AB 365 (Portantino) of 2007, which was
vetoed, would have required CPEC, in cooperation with the Labor
and Workforce Development Agency, to convene a Task Force on
State Workforce Needs. In his veto message, Governor
Schwarzenegger wrote:
"I am supportive of efforts to align state workforce needs
with program development at postsecondary education
institutions. However, statutory authority is not
necessary for the California Postsecondary Education
Commission to meet the objective of convening meetings with
the relevant entities, and developing recommendations.
Therefore, this bill is unnecessary."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960