BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 410
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 410 (Ducheny)
          As Amended  September 4, 2009
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :23-11  
          
           LABOR & EMPLOYMENT      6-1     APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Monning, Bill Berryhill,  |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano,         |
          |     |Eng, Furutani, Ma,        |     |Charles Calderon, Coto,   |
          |     |Portantino                |     |Davis,                    |
          |     |                          |     |Fuentes, Hall, John A.    |
          |     |                          |     |Perez,                    |
          |     |                          |     |Skinner, Solorio,         |
          |     |                          |     |Torlakson, Hill           |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Gaines                    |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller,   |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen,                  |
          |     |                          |     |Audra Strickland          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Seeks 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.  Specifically, this bill  :   

          1)Prescribes eligibility criteria for recipients of financial  
            assistance in the form of needs related payments and would  
            require the one-stop career centers to coordinate and deliver  
            services to persons enrolled in job training programs.

          2)Expands training services to include preapprenticeship and  
            registered apprenticeship training with entrance into a  
            registered apprenticeship program to be considered placement  
            into a job.

          3)Requires the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to  
            develop policies, funding recommendations, and strategies that  
            will maximize funding across all workforce programs for  
            developing workforce skills.









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          4)Requires local workforce investment boards to develop a policy  
            on supportive services.

          5)Requires funding available through the ARRA to be used for  
            increasing training services, and would require training  
            priorities to be consistent with those identified in the ARRA.

          6)Revises existing reporting requirements to include information  
            on funds made available through the ARRA and training  
            expenditures incurred by organizations funded by the  
            Governor's 15% discretionary fund from the federal Workforce  
            Investment Act of 1998 (WIA).

          7)Incorporates changes to Section 14230 of the Unemployment  
            Insurance Code proposed by this bill and AB 3 (V. Manuel  
            Perez) to ensure there are not chaptering out issues should  
            these two bills get enacted.

           

          EXISTING FEDERAL LAW  :

          1)Created WIA which established an ongoing program to provide  
            funding for, and to give direction and support to, state  
            workforce development activities.  WIA creates incentives for  
            the formation of integrated systems of state workforce  
            development boards, appointed by individual state governors,  
            and local workforce investment boards run by local service  
            providers and officials.  WIA requires that 85% of the federal  
            funds supplied for the Act go to the local workforce  
            investment boards, with the remainder allocated by the  
            Governor for state discretionary purposes.

          2)Establishes ARRA which allocates additional WIA funds over  
            fiscal years (FYs) 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.  ARRA 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  :  

           1)Establishes CWIB, and requires CWIB to assist the Governor  
            with promoting the development, oversight, and continuous  
            development of a well-educated and highly skilled workforce,  








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            and also assist in the development of the State Workforce  
            Investment Plan.

          2)Declares the intent of the Legislature to deliver  
            comprehensive workforce services to jobseekers, students, and  
            employers at those comprehensive one-stop career centers to,  
            among other things, make outreach, intake, job search and  
            placement assistance, and other related services available in  
            one location.

          3)Authorizes the Employment Development Department (EDD) to  
            administer various job training and placement programs and  
            services for eligible persons, as provided and requires the  
            EDD to develop a statewide plan and to coordinate all programs  
            it administers, as specified.

          4)Requires EDD to report annually to the Governor, the  
            Legislature, and the CWIB, no later than November 30,  
            regarding the training expenditures made by local workforce  
            investment boards in the prior FYs.

           FISCAL EFFECT :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill creates priorities for about $490 million  
          in federal funds for job training.

           COMMENTS  :  On February 17, 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 a joint informational hearing on the  
          state of the economy and its affects on working families, as  
          well as how the stimulus funds would affect California.  At that  
          hearing, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) stated that  
          there would be an additional $494 million over the 2009-2010 and  
          2010-2011 fiscal years, on top of the $491 million allocated for  
          FY 2009-2010.  Most of the funds will go to the local workforce  
          investment boards, $427 million of the WIA funds for FYs  
          2009-2010 and approximately an additional $420 million over FYs  
          2009-2010 and 2010-2011.
           
          During the buildup to the passage of the ARRA, the author's  
          office began discussions with local workforce investment boards  
          and other workforce development partners on their current fiscal  
          priorities, how they will handle the influx of ARRA stimulus  
          funds, and if California law     complies with federal law and  








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          federal Department of Labor regulations.  This bill is the fruit  
          of those discussions.  
           
          In brief, the bill requires that job training be the priority  
          for the ARRA funds going to local workforce investment boards,  
          expands the definition of training programs to apprenticeship  
          and pre-apprenticeship programs, allows for the use of training  
          funds for supportive services to keep individuals enrolled in  
          the job training programs, and requires additional reporting  
          requirements to track the use of these funds.
           
           See policy committee analysis for prior legislation.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Lorie Erickson / L. & E. / (916)  
          319-2091 


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