BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1402
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 8, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 1402 (Lieu) - As Amended:  August 6, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Jobs Vote:6-0
                        Higher Education                      8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill recasts and revises Education Code provisions 
          regarding the California Community Colleges (CCC) Economic and 
          Workforce Development Program (EWDP), and extends the program's 
          sunset date from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2018. 
          Specifically, this bill makes the following modifications to the 
          EWDP:

          1)Adds six principles to the program's mission, including 
            collaboration with other institutions, making data driven and 
            evidenced-based funding decisions, and developing strong 
            partnerships with the private sector.

          2)Updates the mission of the EWDP to reflect the need to 
            implement sector strategies that align with labor markets.

          3)Enhances the role of the program's advisory committee to 
            ensure that funding is responsive to changing local market 
            needs.

          4)Specifies minimum program outcome measures to be implemented 
            by the CCC Chancellor's Office.

          5)Requires the Chancellor's Office, by January 1, 2015, to 
            contract for an independent evaluation of the program's 
            effectiveness, the findings of which shall be provided to the 
            Legislature by March 1, 2016.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Significant annual General Fund (Prop 98) cost pressure to 








                                                                  SB 1402
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            extend the EWDP beyond the current sunset date. Since 2009-10, 
            when significant budget reductions were enacted across the 
            CCC, annual EWDP funding has totaled $22.9 million. (In 
            2008-09, funding for the program totaled $46.7 million.)


          2)One-time cost up to $100,000, from funds appropriated for EWDP 
            in 2015-16, for the independent evaluation. 


           

          COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . The EWDP, first established in statute in 1991, is 
            intended to advance the state's economic growth and global 
            competitiveness through education and services that contribute 
            to continuous workforce improvement, technology deployment, 
            and business development consistent with the needs of the 
            state's regional economies. Community colleges and business 
            partners form consortia to identify regional workforce needs 
            and priorities, provide assistance to small businesses in the 
            region through local EWD Centers, and train workers.  The 
            partnerships enable the colleges to develop curricula that 
            address the training needs of local industry.

           2)Purpose  . According to the author, this bill is necessary to 
            extend the expiring EWDP sunset and to improve the program's 
            ability to respond to changing economic conditions, 
            accountability for investments and performance, integration 
            with CTE programs.

           3)Related Legislation  . SB 1402 creates a new section to the 
            Education Code for the EWDP, allowing the previous section to 
            sunset on January 1, 2013, and effectively separating EWDP 
            from the Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative, the 
            provisions of which are recast and extended in SB 1070 
            (Steinberg)], also on today's Committee agenda.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081