Bill Text: AZ SB1285 | 2015 | Fifty-second Legislature 1st Regular | Engrossed
Bill Title: Job training; stipends; STEM; internships
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 9-5)
Status: (Vetoed) 2015-04-10 - Governor Vetoed [SB1285 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2015-SB1285-Engrossed.html
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House Engrossed Senate Bill |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-second Legislature First Regular Session 2015
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SENATE BILL 1285 |
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AN ACT
amending sections 41‑1541 and 41‑1544, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to arizona job training programs.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 41-1541, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-1541. Arizona job training program
A. The Arizona job training program is established in the Arizona commerce authority. The program shall provide training for specific employment opportunities with qualified new and expanding businesses and businesses undergoing economic conversion and internship opportunities for students and educators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. If job training employer tax monies are deposited in the Arizona job training fund pursuant to section 23‑769, the program may provide incumbent worker training. The guidelines established pursuant to section 41‑1543 shall provide additional weight for incumbent worker training applicants who demonstrate that incumbent worker trainees will receive an increase in compensation on completion of the training.
B. The chief executive officer shall implement the program and spend monies in the Arizona job training fund established by section 41‑1544.
C. The authority, the business receiving monies for training and the provider of training shall design the training programs.
D. The business shall contribute monies or other appropriate resources, including technical assistance, machinery or training space, as follows:
1. For specific employment opportunities with qualified new and expanding businesses and businesses undergoing economic conversion, in an amount equal to at least twenty‑five per cent percent of the estimated cost of the proposed training.
2. For incumbent worker training, in an amount equal to at least fifty per cent percent of the estimated cost of the proposed training.
E. Applicants for internship opportunities with businesses in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields may apply each fiscal year for monies in the Arizona job training fund in an amount equal to not more than five thousand dollars for each high school and undergraduate student and not more than eight thousand dollars for each graduate student or educator.
E. f. The authority shall not be a direct provider of the training established pursuant to this article.
F. G. Training may be provided by the state community college system, a private postsecondary educational institution licensed under title 32, chapter 30, a community college operated by a tribal government or another qualified training provider.
G. H. Before a business currently operating in this state is eligible to receive training monies, the authority shall require the business to maintain or exceed its current level of training expenditures.
Sec. 2. Section 41-1544, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-1544. Arizona job training fund; definitions
A. The Arizona job training fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations, monies deposited pursuant to section 23‑769, gifts, grants and other monies. The authority shall administer the fund. On notice from the chief executive officer, the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by section 35‑313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the fund.
B. The chief executive officer may accept and expend federal monies and private grants, gifts and contributions to assist in carrying out the purposes of this article. All monies for the program shall be expended only for the costs related to training, except that the authority shall reimburse the department of economic security for the development costs for establishing a system to collect the job training employer tax imposed pursuant to section 23‑769 in an amount of not more than four hundred thousand dollars and for incremental costs incurred by the department of economic security relating to the collection of the job training employer tax imposed pursuant to section 23‑769. Monies in the Arizona job training fund are exempt from the provisions of section 35‑190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.
C. The Arizona job training fund monies shall be spent on approval of the authority at the direction of the chief executive officer in accordance with the guidelines and procedures adopted by the governor's council on workforce policy.
D. A minimum of twenty‑five per cent percent of the monies appropriated to the Arizona job training fund shall be used to provide training to small businesses employing fewer than one hundred employees.
E. A minimum of twenty‑five per cent percent of the monies appropriated to the Arizona job training fund shall be used to provide training to businesses located in rural areas of the state.
F. A minimum of fifty percent of the balance remaining in the Arizona job training fund from the prior fiscal year shall be used to provide internship stipends pursuant to section 41‑1541, subsection E. The balance computed pursuant to this subsection does not include any monies that revert to the Arizona job training fund from expired job training grants and any approved or unspent job training grant monies.
F. G. If a business receives monies for training from the Arizona job training fund and the business employs fewer than one hundred employees and is located in a rural area of this state, the business shall be included in the minimum percentages prescribed in subsections D and E of this section.
G. H. No more than fifty per cent percent of the monies in the Arizona job training fund shall be used to provide incumbent worker training.
H. I. A single grant awarded pursuant to this article shall not be more than ten per cent percent of the estimated annual total of monies deposited in the Arizona job training fund.
I. J. The authority shall not approve grant monies for reimbursement of the following employer costs:
1. Fringe benefits, food and beverages, recruitment and signing bonuses for trainees and trainers.
2. Employer costs to complete a program application.
3. Except for small businesses, training expenses for partners or corporate officers.
4. Employee relocation expenses.
5. Training or course development costs that are not part of the employer's approved training plan.
6. Costs for assessing the training needs of employees.
7. Drug or other testing costs for employee screening or prescreening purposes.
8. Costs for trade shows and conferences or seminars that do not result in a skill certificate that is earned by an employee.
9. Other costs prohibited by rule.
J. K. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Internship" means educational work‑study experience for students or educators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields that provides real-world experience and that builds on education received or delivered in the classroom.
1. 2. "Rural area" means either:
(a) A county with a population of less than seven hundred fifty thousand persons according to the most recent United States decennial census.
(b) A census county division with less than fifty thousand persons in a county with a population of seven hundred fifty thousand or more persons according to the most recent United States decennial census.
2. 3. "Small business" means a concern, including its affiliates, that employs fewer than one hundred employees.
Sec. 3. Effective Date
This act is effective from and after June 30, 2016.
