BILL NUMBER: SB 1401 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lieu
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Sections 14000, 14005, 14010, 14013, and 14020 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to unemployment insurance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1401, as amended, Lieu. Unemployment insurance: education and
workforce investment systems.
Existing law provides that the California Workforce Investment
Board is responsible for assisting the Governor in the development,
oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce
investment system. Existing law further provides that the board must
assist the Governor in targeting resources to specified high-wage
industry sectors and providing guidance to ensure that services
reflect the needs of those sectors.
This bill would provide that the board is also responsible for
assisting the Governor in the alignment of the education and
workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century
workforce and the promotion and development of a well-educated and
highly skilled 21st century economy and workforce. This
bill would require the board to assist the Governor in targeting
resources to specified high-wage industry clusters and leverage state
and federal funds to ensure that resources are invested in
activities that meet the needs of specified industry sectors and
advance the education and employment of students and workers so they
can meet the specified needs of the state, its regional economies,
and leading industry sectors.
Existing law requires the board, in collaboration with specified
state and local partners, and the local workforce investment boards
to develop a specified strategic workforce plan, updated at least
every 5 years, to address the state's economic, demographic, and
workplace needs and to meet the single state plan requirement of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
This bill would require, as part of the strategic workforce plan,
the creation of a California Industry Sector Initiative that will
accomplish specified tasks, including aligning and leveraging
federal, state , and local Workforce Investment Act
funding streams, identifying specified industry sectors and clusters,
providing skills-gap analysis, and establishing specified
eligibility criteria for the Workforce Investment Act eligible
training provider list.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14000 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
14000. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in order for
California to remain prosperous and globally competitive, it needs to
have a well-educated and highly skilled workforce.
(b) The Legislature recognizes all of the following:
(1) California must transform its current job training, job
placement, and vocational education programs into an integrated,
accessible, and accountable workforce investment system that can
effectively serve job seekers, students, and employers.
(2) California's workforce investment system must provide lifelong
learning for all Californians, promote self-sufficiency, link
education and training to economic development, and prepare
California to successfully compete in the global economy.
(3) The programs described in paragraphs (1) and (2) must be
accessible to all Californians, including persons with economic,
physical, or other barriers to employment.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the following
principles shall guide the state's workforce investment system:
(1) Workforce investment programs and services shall be responsive
to the needs of employers, workers, and students by accomplishing
the following:
(A) Preparing California's students and workers with the skills
necessary to successfully compete in the global economy.
(B) Producing greater numbers of individuals who obtain
industry-recognized certificates and degrees in competitive and
emerging industry sectors and filling critical labor market skills
gaps.
(C) Adapting to rapidly changing local and regional labor markets
as specific workforce skill requirements change over time.
(D) Preparing workers for good-paying jobs that foster economic
security and upward mobility.
(2) State and local workforce investment boards are encouraged to
collaborate with other public and private institutions, including
businesses, unions, nonprofit organizations, kindergarten and grades
1 to 12, inclusive, career technical education programs, adult basic
education programs, community college career technical education and
basic skills programs, the California Community Colleges Economic and
Workforce Development Program, and the Employment Training Panel, to
better align resources across workforce education and training
service delivery systems and build a well-articulated workforce
investment system by accomplishing the following:
(A) Adopting local and regional training and education strategies
that build on the strengths and fill the gaps in the education and
workforce development pipeline in order to address the needs of job
seekers, workers, and employers within regional labor markets by
supporting sector strategies.
(B) Leveraging resources across education and workforce training
delivery systems to build career pathways and fill critical skills
gaps.
(3) Workforce investment programs and services shall be data
driven and evidence based when setting priorities, investing
resources, and adopting practices.
(4) Workforce investment programs and services shall develop
strong partnerships with the private sector, ensuring industry
involvement in needs assessment, planning, and program evaluation,
and by encouraging industry involvement by developing strong
partnerships with an industry's employers and the unions that
represent the industry's workers.
(5) Workforce investment programs and services shall be outcome
oriented and accountable, measuring results for program participants,
including, but not limited to, outcomes related to program
completion, employment, and earnings.
(6) Programs and services shall be accessible to employers,
workers, and students who may benefit from their operation, including
individuals with employment barriers, such as persons with economic,
physical, or other barriers to employment.
SECTION 1. Section 14000 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code is amended to read:
14000. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in order for
California to remain prosperous and globally competitive, it needs to
have a well-educated and highly skilled workforce.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the following
principles shall guide the state's workforce investment system:
(1) Workforce investment programs and services shall be responsive
to the needs of employers, workers, and students by accomplishing
the following:
(A) Preparing California's students and workers with the skills
necessary to successfully compete in the global economy.
(B) Producing greater numbers of individuals who obtain industry
recognized certificates and degrees in competitive and emerging
industry sectors and filling critical labor market skills gaps.
(C) Adapting to the rapidly changing labor market as specific
workforce skill requirements change over time.
(D) Preparing workers for good paying jobs that foster economic
self-sufficiency and upward mobility.
(2) Workforce investment programs and services shall collaborate
with other public institutions, including K-12 career technical
education and adult basic education programs, community college
career technical education and basic skills programs, the Economic
and Workforce Development program of the Chancellor's office, and the
Employment Training Panel, to better align resources across
workforce education and training service delivery systems and build a
well-articulated workforce investment system by accomplishing the
following:
(A) Adopting local and regional training and education strategies
that build on the strengths and fill the gaps in the education and
workforce development pipeline.
(B) Leveraging resources across education and workforce training
delivery systems to build career pathways and fill critical skills
gaps.
(3) Workforce investment programs and services shall be
data-driven and evidence-based, setting priorities, investing
resources, and adopting practices on the basis of what works.
(4) Workforce investment programs and services shall develop
strong partnerships with the private sector, ensuring industry
involvement in needs assessment, planning, and program evaluation.
(5) Workforce investment programs and services shall be
outcome-oriented and accountable, measuring results for program
participants, including, but not limited to, outcomes related to
program completion, employment, and earnings.
(6) Programs and services shall be accessible to employers,
workers, and students who may benefit from their operation, including
persons with economic, physical, or other barriers to employment.
SEC. 2. Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14005. For purposes of this division:
(a) "Board" shall mean the California Workforce Investment Board.
(b) "Agency" means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
(c) "Career pathways," "career ladders," or "career lattices" mean
an identified series of positions, work experiences, or educational
benchmarks or credentials with multiple access points that
offer occupational and financial advancement within a specified
career field or related fields over time.
(d) "Cluster-based sector strategies" means methods of focusing
workforce and economic development on those sectors that have
demonstrated a capacity for economic growth and job creation in a
particular geographic area.
(e) "Economic security" means, with respect to a worker, earning a
wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and over time, to
save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement income, based on
factors such as household size, the cost of living in the worker's
community, and other factors that may vary by region.
(e)
(f) "High-priority occupations" mean occupations that
have a significant presence in a targeted industry sector or industry
cluster, are in demand by employers, and pay or lead to payment of
high wage.
(g) "Individual with employment barriers" means an individual with
any characteristic that substantially limits an individual's ability
to obtain employment, including indicators of poor work history,
lack of work experience, or access to employment in nontraditional
occupations, long-term unemployment, lack of educational, or
occupational skills attainment, dislocation from high-wage and
high-benefit employment, low levels of literacy or English
proficiency, disability status, or welfare dependency.
(f)
(h) "Industry cluster" means a geographic concentration
or emerging concentration of interdependent industries with direct
service, supplier, and research relationships, or independent
industries that share common resources in a given regional economy or
labor market. An industry cluster is a group of employers closely
linked by common product or services, workforce needs, similar
technologies, and supply chains in a given regional economy or labor
market.
(g)
(i) "Industry sector" means those firms that produce
similar products or provide similar services using somewhat similar
business processes , and are closely linked by workforce needs,
within a regional labor market .
(h)
(j) "Local labor federation" means a central labor
council that is an organization of local unions affiliated with the
California Labor Federation or a local building and construction
trades council affiliated with the State Building and Construction
Trades Council.
(i)
(k) "Sector strategies" means methods of prioritizing
investments in competitive and emerging industry sectors and industry
clusters on the basis of labor market and other economic data
indicating strategic growth potential, especially with regard to jobs
and income, and exhibit the following characteristics:
(1) Focus workforce investment in education and workforce training
programs that are likely to lead to high-wage jobs or to an
entry-level job with a well-articulated career pathway into a
high-wage job.
(2) Effectively boost labor productivity or reduce business
barriers to growth and expansion stemming from workforce supply
problems, including skills gaps, and occupational shortages by
directing resources and making investments to plug skills gaps and
provide education and training programs for high-priority
occupations.
(3) May be implemented using articulated career pathways or
lattices and a system of stackable credentials.
(4) May target underserved communities, disconnected youths,
incumbent workers, and recently separated military veterans.
(j)
(l) "Workforce Investment Act of 1998" means the
federal act enacted as Public Law 105-220.
SEC. 3. Section 14010 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14010. The California Workforce Investment Board is the body
responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight,
and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment
system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment
systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and
workforce.
SEC. 4. Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14013. The board shall assist the Governor in the following:
(a) Promoting the development of a well-educated and highly
skilled 21st century workforce.
(b) Developing the State Workforce Investment Plan.
(c) Developing guidelines for the continuous improvement and
operation of the workforce investment system, including:
(1) Developing policies to guide the one-stop system.
(2) Providing technical assistance for the continuous improvement
of the one-stop system.
(3) Recommending state investments in the one-stop system.
(4) Targeting resources to high-wage competitive and emerging
industry sectors and industry clusters that are either high-growth
sectors or critical to California's economy, or both. These industry
sectors and clusters shall have significant economic impacts on the
state and its regional and local areas, have immediate education and
workforce development needs, and have documented career
opportunities.
(d) Developing and continuously improving the statewide workforce
investment system as delivered via the one-stop delivery system
and via other programs and services supported by funding from the
federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 , including:
(1) Developing linkages in order to assure coordination and
nonduplication among workforce programs and activities.
(2) Reviewing local workforce investment plans.
(3) Leveraging state and federal funds to ensure that resources
are invested in activities that meet the needs of the state's
competitive and emerging industry sectors and advance the education
and employment needs of students and workers so they can keep pace
with the education and skill needs of the state, its regional
economies, and leading industry sectors.
(e) Commenting, at least once annually, on the measures taken
pursuant to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
Education Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-392; 20 U.S.C. Sec.
2301 et seq.).
(f) Designating local workforce investment areas within the state
based on information derived from all of the following:
(1) Consultations with the Governor.
(2) Consultations with the chief local elected officials.
(3) Consideration of comments received through the public comment
process, as described in Section 112(b)(9) of the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
(g) Developing and modifying allocation formulas, as necessary,
for the distribution of funds for adult employment and training
activities, for youth activities to local workforce investment areas,
and dislocated worker employment and training activities, as
permitted by federal law.
(h) Coordinating the development and continuous improvement of
comprehensive state performance measures, including state adjusted
levels of performance, to assess the effectiveness of the workforce
investment activities in the state.
(i) Preparing the annual report to the United States Secretary of
Labor.
(j) Recommending policy for the development of the statewide
employment statistics system, including workforce and economic data,
as described in Section 15 of Title 29 of the United States Code, and
using, to the fullest extent possible, the Employment Development
Department's existing labor market information systems.
(k) Recommending strategies to the Governor for strategic training
investments of the Governor's 15-percent discretionary funds.
(l) Developing and recommending waivers, in conjunction with local
workforce investment boards, to the Governor as provided for in the
federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
(m) Recommending policy to the Governor for the use of the
25-percent rapid response funds, as authorized under the federal
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
(n) Developing an application to the United States Department of
Labor for an incentive grant under Section 9273 of Title 20 of the
United States Code.
SEC. 5. Section 14020 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14020. (a) The California Workforce Investment Board, in
collaboration with state and local partners, including the Chancellor
of the California Community Colleges, the State Department of
Education, other appropriate state agencies, and local workforce
investment boards, shall develop a strategic workforce plan to serve
as a framework for the development of public policy, fiscal
investment, and operation of all state labor exchange, workforce
education, and training programs to address the state's economic,
demographic, and workforce needs. The strategic workforce plan shall
also serve as the framework for the single state plan required by the
federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The plan shall
be updated at least every five years.
(b) The state shall develop a California Industry Sector
Initiative that will serve as the cornerstone of the state plan and
provide a framework for state workforce investments and support
for sector strategies .
(c) The California Workforce Investment Board shall work
collaboratively with state and local partners to identify ways to
eliminate systemwide barriers and better align and leverage
federal, state , and local Workforce Investment Act
funding streams and policies to develop, support, and sustain
regional alliances of employers and workforce and education
professionals who are working to improve the educational pipeline,
establish well-articulated career pathways, provide
industry-recognized credentials and certificates, and address the
career advancement needs of current and future workers in competitive
and emergent industry sectors and clusters. The California Workforce
Investment Board and its partners shall work collaboratively to
maximize state and local investments and pursue other resources to
address the skills-gap needs identified pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (d).
(d) In order to support the requirement of the plans in
subdivision (a), the California Workforce Investment Board shall do
the following:
(1) Annually identify industry sectors and industry clusters that
have a competitive economic advantage and demonstrated economic
importance to the state , and its
regional economies , and local workforce investment areas
. In developing this analysis , the
California Workforce Investment Board shall consider the expertise of
local workforce investment boards in the state's respective regional
economies and shall encourage the local workforce investment boards
to identify industry sectors and industry clusters that have a
competitive economic advantage and demonstrated economic importance
in their respective local workforce investment areas.
(2) Annually identify new dynamic emergent industry sectors and
industry clusters with substantial potential to generate new jobs and
income growth for the state , and its
regional economies , and local workforce investment areas
. In developing this analysis, the California
Workforce Investment Board shall consider the expertise of local
workforce investment boards in the state's respective regional
economies and shall encourage the local workforce investment boards
to identify new dynamic emergent industry sectors and industry
clusters with substantial potential to generate new jobs and income
growth in their respective local workforce investment areas.
(3) Provide an annual skills-gap analysis enumerating occupational
and skills shortages in the industry sectors and industry clusters
identified as having strategic importance to the state's economy
, and its regional economies ,
and local workforce investment areas. This skills-gap
. In developing this analysis, the California Workforce Investment
Board shall consider the expertise of local workforce investment
boards in the state's respective regional economies and shall
encourage the local workforce investment boards to conduct skills
-gap analysis for their respective local
workforce investment areas. Skills-gap analysis for the
state and its regional economies shall use labor market data to
specify a list of high-priority , in-demand occupations
for the state , and its regional
economies , and its local workforce investment areas
. This list shall be used to inform investment decisions
and eligible training provider policies.
(4) Establish , with input from local workforce investment
boards and other stakeholders, initial and subsequent
eligibility criteria for the Workforce Investment Act eligible
training provider list that effectively directs training resources
into training programs leading to employment in high-demand,
high-priority, and high-wage occupations, particularly those facing a
shortage of skilled workers. The subsequent eligibility
criteria, to the extent feasible, shall use performance and outcome
measures to determine whether a provider is qualified to
remain on the list. At a minimum these
, initial and subsequent eligibility criteria shall consider
the following:
(A) The relevance of the training program to the workforce needs
of the state's strategic industry sectors and industry clusters.
(B) The need to plug skills gaps and skills shortages in the
economy, including skills gaps and skills shortages at the
state and regional level.
(C) The need to plug skills gaps and skills shortages in local
workforce investment areas.
(D) The likelihood that the training program will lead to job
placement in a high-wage job or job placement in an entry-level job
that has a well-articulated career pathway or career ladder to a
high-wage job.
(E) The need for basic skills and bridge training programs that
provide access to occupational skills training for individuals
with barriers to employment and those who would otherwise be
unable to enter occupational skills training.
(F) To the extent feasible, utilize criteria that measure training
and education provider performance, including, but not limited to,
the following:
(i) Measures of skills or competency attainment.
(ii) Measures relevant to program completion, including measures
of course, certificate, degree, licensure, and program of study rate
of completion.
(iii) For those entering the labor market, measures of employment
placement and retention.
(iv) For those continuing in training or education, measures of
educational or training progression.
(v) For those who have entered the labor market, measures of
income, including wage measures.
(F)
(G) If the state receives a waiver from the federal
subsequent eligibility provisions specified in the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 , the state workforce investment
board shall establish its own subsequent eligibility criteria that
take into account all of the criteria specified in subparagraphs (A),
(B), (C), (D), and (E) , and (F) .