BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Mark DeSaulnier, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2010 2009-2010 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 2349
Author: Fong
Version: Amended June 16, 2010
SUBJECT
Workforce development: Youth at Work Program.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature create a "Youth at Work" Program that
would allow the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) and
local workforce investment boards to implement summer youth job
training programs for at-risk youth?
PURPOSE
To create a "Youth at Work" Program that would, with the consent
of the Director of Finance, allow the California Workforce
Investment Board (CWIB) and local workforce investment boards to
implement summer job training programs for at-risk youth.
ANALYSIS
Existing federal law in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of
1998 requires all states to form state workforce investment
boards, and for Governors to designate local workforce
investment areas and oversee local workforce investment boards.
WIA requires that 85 percent of the federal funds supplied for
the Act go to the local workforce investment boards, with the
remainder allocated for state discretionary purposes.
Existing federal law in the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (AARA) allocates additional WIA funds over the
2009-2010 and 2010-2011 fiscal years. AARA also makes
additional funds available nationally through competitive grants
which may be accessed, among other groups, by state workforce
investment boards and local workforce investment boards.
Existing state law establishes the California Workforce
Investment Board (CWIB), and requires the CWIB to assist the
Governor with promoting the continuous development and oversight
of a well-educated and highly skilled workforce, and development
of the State Workforce Investment Plan.
This Bill requires the California Workforce Investment Board
(CWIB), in collaboration with local workforce investment boards,
to establish the California Youth at Work Program for the
purpose of providing summer job training and work experience
opportunities for youth in the state.
This bill would specify that:
a) The California Youth at Work Program must focus on
providing summer job training and work experience
opportunities for youth in the state, and that the period
of "summer" shall be from May 1 through September 30 of
each year, but that program start and end dates may vary
within this time period;
b) The California Youth at Work Program must include a work
experience, work based learning, and academic enrichment
components;
c) Eligible youth who participate in the California Youth
at Work Program shall be between 14 years of age and 24
years of age;
d) Low-income youth and certain youth populations facing
barriers to employment, as specified, are automatically
eligible for California Youth at Work Program services when
allowed by the funding mechanism criteria;
e) The California Youth at Work Program must, to the extent
feasible and appropriate, incorporate academic enrichment
components, work-based learning strategies, work
experience, and other activities that involve exposing
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2349
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
youth to industrial job sector opportunities that are key
to the economic region;
f) The California Youth at Work Program must, to the extent
feasible and appropriate, incorporate career ladders with
economic training and development programs, including, but
not limited to, WIA funded programs, other state or
federally funded programs, and apprenticeship programs
approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards; and
g) Wages, stipends, or both may be provided to youth in a
classroom-based component of a summer employment
opportunity.
This bill would require that minors under 18 years of age who
are enrolled in the program shall be paid at least the
applicable state minimum wage and overtime rates, and that high
school graduates or those persons holding an equivalent degree
shall be paid at a level commensurate with adults doing the same
job, when those individuals perform the same quantity, quality,
and classification of work.
This bill would require the California Workforce Investment
Board, in consultation with local workforce investment boards,
to request and obtain any necessary waivers from the United
States Department of Labor (DOL) to ensure effective and
efficient implementation of the Program.
This bill would require the California Workforce Investment
Board, in consultation with local workforce investment boards,
to evaluate the effectiveness of the Program in providing summer
job training services to youth, and shall make public the
results of that evaluation.
This bill would require that the California Youth at Work
Program can only be implemented if the Director of Finance
determines that there are sufficient federal or state funds made
available to the state for expenditure for the program.
This bill would allow local workforce investment board to seek
other funding sources beyond, the Workforce Investment Act of
1998, for grants or contracts to eligible providers of youth
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2349
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 3
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
activities in the local area on a competitive basis, based upon
the recommendations of the youth council.
This bill would require the local workforce investment boards to
utilize other federal statutes beyond the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998 to identify eligible providers of training services.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
In February 2009, President Obama signed into law the ARRA,
which sought to use federal stimulus dollars to combat the
current economic recession. In March 2009, the Senate Labor
and Industrial Relations Committee and the Assembly Committee
on Labor and Employment held an informational hearing on the
state of the economy, as well as how the stimulus funds would
affect California. At that hearing, the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) stated that California would receive an
additional $494 million for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 fiscal
years, on top of the $491 million allocated for fiscal year
2009-10 in WIA funds. Of the $494 million that we will
receive through the ARRA, $188 million has been allocated for
youth programs.
According to the California Workforce Association, in the
summer of 2009, nearly 50,000 youth in California were
employed through the Program partly due to the temporary ARRA
funding. With the increase from ARRA being a limited one-time
occurrence along with the significant decreases in WIA funding
since 2001, all but a few WIA youth programs still remain.
AB 2349 would create a permanent "Youth at Work" program in
California that would serve as a job training resource for
disadvantaged youth through work experience and learning-
based strategies. AB 2349 would work within the guidelines of
the WIA, but also allow local workforce investment boards to
seek outside funding from other governmental and
non-governmental entities.
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2349
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 4
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
2. Proponent Arguments :
Proponents of this measure nearly 50,000 youth in California
were employed through the Program partly due to the temporary
ARRA funding. The summer youth Program provided thousands of
California youth throughout our state good jobs with skill
building and work readiness training. Proponents believe
that, with the passage of AB 2349, the California Youth at
Work Program will continue to be an effective and beneficial
resource for disadvantaged youth that will afford them an
opportunity to gain vital work experience and important
learning based strategies, which benefit the economy by
helping California's youth gain the skills necessary to become
and remain competitive in the workforce.
3. Opponent Arguments :
The California Department of Finance (DOF) opposes AB 2349,
arguing that the bill is unnecessary and could impact the
development of effective employment programs. DOF notes that
summer youth training has become a greater priority for the
Department of Labor, the Governor's office, and local
workforce investment boards, and in response to this, the
California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) has created the
Summer Youth Vision Team in order to bring resources together
to target at-risk youth.
4. Prior Legislation :
AB 1559 (Committee on Labor and Employment) of 2009, which was
very similar to this bill, would have codified ongoing summer
youth job training programs, as well as the requirements and
definitions presented in the Department of Labor's Training
and Employment Guidance Letter 14-08, facilitating the use of
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. AB 1559
was vetoed by the Governor.
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Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 5
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
SB 410 (Ducheny) of 2009, vetoed by the Governor, sought to
provide greater oversight over the spending of the federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds,
as well as to set clear legislative goals and priorities for
the use of those funds relative to workforce readiness
programs.
SB 302 (Ducheny), Chapter 376, Statutes of 2008 created the
requirement that the Employment Development Department report
annually on the training expenditures made by local workforce
investment boards in the prior fiscal year, and authorized
additional accounting practices.
SB 293 (Ducheny), Chapter 630, Statutes of 2006, restructured
the local workforce investment boards and the state workforce
investment boards, as well as authorized the submittal of
unified local plans for welfare-to-work programs.
SUPPORT
California Workforce Association (Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Federation of Teachers
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
County of Santa Barbara
OPPOSITION
California Department of Finance
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Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2349
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 6
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations