Bill Text: AZ HB2071 | 2017 | Fifty-third Legislature 1st Regular | Introduced

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Bill Title: Workforce training; unemployed workers

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-18 - House read second time [HB2071 Detail]

Download: Arizona-2017-HB2071-Introduced.html

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REFERENCE TITLE: workforce training; unemployed workers

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-third Legislature

First Regular Session

2017

 

 

HB 2071

 

Introduced by

Representatives Cardenas: Alston, Andrade, Benally, Blanc, Chávez, Engel, Epstein, Espinoza, Gabaldón, Martinez, Navarrete, Powers Hannley, Rios, Rubalcava

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending Title 41, chapter 14, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding article 6; relating to workforce training.

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Title 41, chapter 14, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 6, to read:

ARTICLE 6.  ARIZONA WORKS PROGRAM

START_STATUTE41-2031.  Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1.  "Eligible person":

(a)  Means an individual who has been laid off or terminated from employment or who has received notice of layoff or termination from employment and who is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation.

(b)  Includes an employee of a manufacturer or a metallurgical or mining operation who has received general notice of a facility closure within the past three hundred sixty‑five days.

2.  "Eligible school" means an accredited public four‑year college or university or private four‑year degree‑granting college or university.

3.  "Eligible training program" means an apprenticeship program, a community college or a trade or vocational school.

4.  "Tuition waiver scholarship" means tuition and mandatory fees charged by the eligible school or eligible training program. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2032.  Arizona works program; tuition waiver scholarship; housing assistance

A.  The Arizona works program is established within the department to provide tuition waivers, housing assistance, on‑the‑job training and apprenticeship programs for eligible persons who have lost employment due to economic conditions within ninety days after application.  The department shall administer the Arizona works program and develop application and selection criteria.

B.  An eligible school, after verification by the department, shall provide an eligible person with a tuition waiver scholarship for not more than forty‑eight months.  The tuition waiver scholarship is limited to the following:

1.  A one hundred percent tuition waiver scholarship for an eligible person who enrolls in twelve credit hours or more per semester.

2.  A seventy‑five percent tuition waiver scholarship for an eligible person who enrolls in at least nine credit hours but less than twelve credit hours per semester.

3.  A fifty percent tuition waiver scholarship for an eligible person who enrolls in at least six credit hours but less than nine credit hours per semester.

4.  A twenty‑five percent tuition waiver scholarship for an eligible person who enrolls in at least three credit hours but less than six credit hours per semester.

C.  An eligible training program, after verification by the department, shall provide an eligible person with a full tuition waiver scholarship for not more than forty‑eight months.  

D.  The department shall reimburse the eligible school or eligible training program for the cost of the tuition waiver scholarship on notification from the eligible school or eligible training program that the eligible person has been accepted into the Arizona works program.

E.  The department shall provide a housing assistance voucher for not more than forty‑eight months to an eligible person who is receiving a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to subsection B of this section as follows:

1.  For an eligible person who is enrolled in twelve credit hours or more per semester, one hundred percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends school.

2.  For an eligible person who is enrolled in at least nine credit hours but less than twelve credit hours per semester, seventy‑five percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends school.

3.  For an eligible person who is enrolled in at least six credit hours but less than nine credit hours per semester, fifty percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends school.

4.  For an eligible person who is enrolled in at least three credit hours but less than six credit hours per semester, twenty‑five percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends school.

F.  The department shall provide housing assistance vouchers to an eligible person who is receiving a tuition waiver scholarship pursuant to subsection C of this section as follows:

1.  One hundred percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends the eligible training program for the first six months of the program.

2.  Eighty percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends the eligible training program for the second six-month period of the program.

3.  Sixty percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends the eligible training program for the third six-month period of the program.

4.  Forty percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends the eligible training program for the fourth six-month period of the program.

5.  Twenty percent of the median monthly rent of the county in which the eligible person attends the eligible training program for the fifth six-month period of the program.

G.  If a recipient of a tuition waiver scholarship or housing assistance voucher fails to maintain a grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent, or does not complete the program, the recipient of the tuition waiver scholarship or housing assistance voucher shall repay the department for those credits and housing assistance in full.

H.  If a recipient of a tuition waiver scholarship or housing assistance voucher withdraws from an eligible school or eligible training program or completes a degree or training program, the person is no longer eligible for the tuition waiver scholarship or housing assistance voucher. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2033.  Arizona works program; funding

A.  The department may accept grants, donations, contributions, gifts or other assistance from public or private sources to provide tuition waiver scholarships and housing assistance vouchers pursuant to section 41‑2032.

B.  The department shall use monies received pursuant to the workforce innovation and opportunity act (P.L. 113‑128; 128 Stat. 1425) to provide tuition waiver scholarships and housing assistance vouchers pursuant to section 41-2032. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE41-2034.  Program termination

The program established by this article ends on July 1, 2027 pursuant to section 41‑3102. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.  Exemption from rulemaking

For the purposes of this act, the department of economic security is exempt from the rulemaking requirements of title 41, chapter 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, for one year after the effective date of this act.

Sec. 3.  Legislative intent

It is the intent of the legislature to provide skills training and workforce development benefits to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.  The legislature recognizes that the global economy is undergoing a phase of restructuring and modernization.  As industries either retract or expand, workers must learn and develop new skills in order to successfully compete in the global marketplace.