BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2349 (Fong)
Hearing Date: 8/12/2010 Amended: 6/16/2010
Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: L&IR 4-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1559 would require the California Workforce
Investment Board (CWIB), in collaboration with local workforce
investment boards (LWIBs), to establish the California Youth at
Work Program (CYWP), for the purposes of providing summer job
training, work based learning and work experience opportunities
for youth in the state. This bill would specify that a LWIB is
to award grants or contracts to eligible providers of youth
activities, in a manner consistent with other funding sources
and to identify eligible providers in a manner consistent with
federal law. This bill states the program shall 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.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
California Youth at Work Unknown, major costs ongoing
to provide Federal
Program summer job training, work based learning,
and work experience opportunities
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was passed by Congress in
1998 and gives states and local governments the authority to
coordinate employment, training, literacy, and vocational
rehabilitation programs. The Employment Development Department
(EDD) distributes WIA funds to three categories of workers:
adult, youth, and dislocated workers.
The amount the state receives depends on the total amount of WIA
funds and the state's economic and demographic statistics as a
relative share of those statistics for all states. These funds
for California have declined over the years, from $630 million
in 2000-01 to about $497 million in 2009-10.
The LWIBs receive about 85 percent of the state's WIA
allocation, while the remaining 15 percent of WIA funds are
available for state discretionary purposes. The formula
allocation to LWIBs for 2009-10 is about $422 million, while the
amount of state discretionary funds is about $75 million. The
Legislature has prioritized a portion of WIA
discretionary funds for employment and training programs in
other areas such as veterans' training, nursing skills
initiatives, and green technology training.
In addition to a base funding of $497 million, the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided an additional $488
million for California's workforce system in 2009-10. Combining
the base and ARRA funds, the state has received a total of $985
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AB 2349 (Fong)
million for workforce development programs. EDD has distributed
a total of $837 million to LWIBs and $148 million for state
discretionary purposes. $282 million was allocated to youth
categories.
The CYWP proposed by this bill would provide that:
- The CYWP must focus primarily 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 start and end dates may
vary.
- The CYWP shall include various academic and work components
that conforms to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and other
apprentice, training and vocational programs.
- CYWP services shall target low-income youth and certain youth
populations facing barriers to employment.
Staff notes this bill would add Unemployment Insurance Code
14021 (c), as follows:
The program established by this section shall 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.
If this bill was chaptered, the appropriation of sufficient
federal or state funds would be done as part of the budget
process. Staff recommends deleting this subdivision as it
appears to be a delegation of legislative authority.
The provisions of this bill are consistent with ARRA guidelines
and ARRA funds may be used to fund the implementation of the
CYWP. This funding is currently available in 2009-10 and part
of 2010-11 for summer youth programs but is not available
ongoing. When all ARRA funds for this purpose are expended, the
CYWP would become a General Fund obligation.
This bill is similar to AB 1559 (Monning) 2009 which was vetoed
by the Governor with the following message:
This bill requires the California Workforce Investment Board, in
collaboration with local workforce investment boards, to
establish a California Youth at Work Program, for the purpose of
providing summer job training and work experience opportunities
for youth in the state. While I support such an effort, this
bill is unnecessary and could prove burdensome if it conflicts
with the summer youth work programs the local workforce
development boards are already in the process of developing.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided funding
specifically for a summer youth work program, which has already
been distributed to the locals, and established specific
criteria for the program. To the extent that this bill imposes
additional requirements on the local workforce investment
boards, it could hamper, rather than aid, in the development of
effective programs.
The proposed amendments would define the phrase "academic
component" and remove all cost pressure to the state by
clarifying that implementation of the program is contingent on
sufficient federal funds being available.