BILL NUMBER: SB 964 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 15, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alquist
(Principal coauthor: Senator Steinberg)
(Coauthors: Senators Ducheny and Leno)
FEBRUARY 5, 2010
An act to add Section 185039 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to workforce training, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 964, as amended, Alquist. Workforce development program:
high-speed rail.
Existing law, the California High-Speed Train Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed train
system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law,
the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st
Century, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general
obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes.
This bill would require the authority to contract with the
Employment Development Department to develop a labor market
assessment of the workforce and identify the education and skills
needed for construction, operation, and maintenance of the high-speed
train system. The bill, in that regard, would require the
department to consult and work cooperatively with the Mineta
Transportation Institute at the California State University at San
Jose and to consult with other workforce assessment
efforts, as specified. The bill would require the authority and
the department to form an advisory committee, as specified, to
advise the authority and the department on the availability of
skilled labor relative to the high-speed train project and on options
for workforce training programs in that regard. The bill would
require the labor market assessment to be submitted to the
Legislature and incorporated into the authority's biennial revised
business plan.
This bill would appropriate $500,000 from the High-Speed Passenger
Train Bond Fund to the authority for these purposes, as specified.
The bill would also make related legislative findings and
declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The construction of the 800-mile high-speed train system in
California is estimated to be a 10-year construction project
providing approximately 600,000 construction jobs and 450,000
permanent jobs for the California economy.
(b) Constructing, maintaining, and operating a high-speed train
system will require a large traditional labor pool and many unique
skill sets not typical in a more conventional transportation
construction project. To fully construct a high-speed train system
using California labor, there is a need for skilled and trained
individuals in the fields of engineering and electrical power
systems, materials experts, control system and computer system
technicians, and specialized maintenance workers, among others. To
ensure the availability of these labor skills and resources needed
for construction of the high-speed train system and to maximize the
extent of California labor force participation in the completion of
the high-speed train system, it is crucial that the state immediately
begin the actions necessary to achieve these resource goals and
requirements.
(c) As a critical first step, it is important for the state to
have a full assessment of the labor needs to plan for this
transportation "mega project," and to provide the necessary training
and educational opportunities so that Californians, to the greatest
extent possible, may participate in, and benefit from, this historic
and transformative public works project.
(d) As part of its responsibilities and function to plan for the
development of a high-speed train system in California, it is
essential that the High-Speed Rail Authority work collaboratively
with the state's Employment Development Department, the University of
California, California State University, California Community
Colleges, the California Workforce Investment Board, the California
Department of Education, and labor representatives and related
organizations with expertise in trade apprenticeship programs, to
assess the labor needs and recommend actions to ensure adequate
workforce training is available for the construction, operation, and
maintenance of a high-speed train system in this state.
(e) The Legislature finds and declares that it is appropriate to
utilize funds from Proposition 1A of 2008, the Safe, Reliable,
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (Chapter 20
(commencing with Section 2704) of Division 3 of the Streets and
Highways Code), for the purposes set forth in Section 185039 of the
Public Utilities Code, as added by this act.
SEC. 2. Section 185039 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
185039. (a) Pursuant to its duty to plan for the development of
a high-speed train system in California, the authority shall contract
with the Employment Development Department to collaboratively
develop a labor market assessment of the workforce and identify the
education and skills needed to (1) construct the high-speed train
system authorized for bond funding under the Safe, Reliable,
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (Chapter 20
(commencing with Section 2704) of Division 3 of the Streets and
Highways Code) and (2) operate and maintain the high-speed train
system, as necessary to aid the authority in planning the
construction of the high-speed train system. The assessment shall
include a recommended strategy to ensure workforce training programs
are available to facilitate the availability of a skilled, in-state
workforce to participate, to the maximum extent feasible, in the
construction of the high-speed train system.
(b) In developing the high-speed rail workforce labor market
assessment required pursuant to subdivision (a), the Employment
Development Department shall consult and work cooperatively with the
Mineta Transportation Institute at the California State University at
San Jose. The department shall consider and utilize, where
appropriate, the research and findings of the work activities of the
institute as they relate to the assessment and shall utilize any
relevant information and findings resulting from the institute's
research and examination in developing the assessment. Likewise, the
department shall collaborate with the institute and make available to
it the information and results of the department's assessment. The
department shall also consult with other current, ongoing assessment
efforts related to California's rail transit workforce development.
(b)
(c) To achieve the objectives described in subdivision
(a), the authority and the Employment Development Department shall
establish an advisory committee to advise both agencies on the
availability and potential availability of skilled labor, by region,
necessary to (1) construct the high-speed train system and (2)
operate and maintain the high-speed train system, as necessary to aid
the authority in planning the construction of the high-speed train
system. In addition, the advisory committee shall advise both
agencies on workforce training programs and funding options
available, or proposed to be available, to ensure a qualified skilled
workforce in California may participate in the construction of the
high-speed train system.
(c)
(d) (1) Members of the advisory committee established
pursuant to subdivision (b) (c) shall
include, but not be limited to, representatives from the following
organizations:
(A) The authority.
(B) The state's higher education institutions, including the
University of California, the California State University system, and
the California Community College Chancellor's office.
(C) The California Workforce Investment Board.
(D) The State Department of Education.
(E) Labor organizations with expertise in operating apprenticeship
programs for the skills necessary to build, operate, and maintain a
high-speed train system.
(F) The Employment Training Panel.
(2) The authority may include parties in addition to those
identified in paragraph (1) as members of the advisory committee.
(d)
(e) The assessment and recommendations developed
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall consider the short-term and
long-term labor needs for the project, including the need for
specific skills in specific regions of the state.
(e)
(f) The assessment produced pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be submitted to the fiscal committees and the policy
committees of the Legislature with jurisdiction over transportation
and labor matters by January 1, 2012. The assessment shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2016,
pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(f)
(g) The assessment produced pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be incorporated in the authority's biennial revised business
plan and submitted to the Legislature for its review pursuant to
Section 185033.
(g)
(h) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000)
is hereby appropriated from the High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund
to the authority for purposes of this section. The funds
appropriated for the purposes of this section shall be allocated from
the funds set aside in subdivision (b) of Section 2704.08 of the
Streets and Highways Code for environmental studies, planning, and
preliminary engineering activities.