Bill Text: CA SB534 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Equitable Access to Job Opportunity Pilot Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - September 1 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB534 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB534-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 22, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 534

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Introduced by Senator Padilla

February 14, 2023

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An act to amend Section 14000 of add and repeal Division 11 (commencing with Section 19000) of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to workforce development.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 534, as amended, Padilla. California Workforce Development Board. Equitable Access to Job Opportunity Pilot Program.

Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board to, among other things, assist the Governor in developing, implementing, and modifying the state plan, which serves as the comprehensive framework and coordinated plan for the aligned investment of all federal and state workforce training and employment services funding streams and programs. Existing law states the Legislature finds and declares that specified principals shall guide the state’s workforce investment system. as 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. Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research within the Governor’s office to provide long-range planning and research and to serve as the comprehensive state planning agency.

This bill would require the board to specifically target investment in critical industries, as specified. establish the Equitable Access to Job Opportunity Pilot Program, to be operative from January 1, 2024, to January 1, 2025, inclusive, to provide individuals without postsecondary education degrees from rural or low-income communities with financial aid for workforce development training and education to gain employment in key industries. The bill would require the board and the office to administer the pilot program, including identifying key industries and developing partnerships, pathways, and opportunities to ensure local development of those industries, as specified. The bill would require the board and the office to use existing resources for purposes of the pilot program, subject to the availability of funding in this act or the annual Budget Act, and would require the board and the office to work with local stakeholders, including local workforce development boards, in securing job opportunities and building pathways and partnerships, as specified. The bill would require the board and the office, on or before January 1, 2026, to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program, as specified. The bill would repeal the bill’s provisions on January 1, 2027.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Low-income and rural communities face barriers to accessing state and federal funding because of limited technical capacity and lack of community-based organizations.

(b) Low-income and rural Californians are in dire need of a highly skilled training and ample economic development opportunities located within their local communities.

(c) In order to remain competitive, California will need a highly skilled and trained workforce to meet the needs of the labor market.

(d) In order to build this workforce, low-income and rural Californians must have equitable access to workforce and economic development opportunities within their local community.

(e) Investing in access to job opportunity and job creation in low-income and rural communities has multiple benefits, including increased individual economic mobility, healthier and more stable communities, and a more economically resilient California.

(f) The GI Bill (Public Law 78-346) formally known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, helped build the American middle class. It guaranteed millions of veterans a college education and home loans and many of the benefits and impacts can still be seen today.

(g) California must aggressively train and educate underinvested areas of our workforce in order to meet the demands of tomorrow, yet many of our state’s resources continue to fail to reach the people that need it the most.

(h) Enacting a program in California similar to the GI Bill to address historic underinvestment in sectors and regions of our workforce in exchange for public service will provide economic mobility for all Californians and ensure every region of our state grows competitively.

SEC. 2.

 Division 11 (commencing with Section 19000) is added to the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:

DIVISION 11. Equitable Access to Job Opportunity Act of 2023

19000.

 (a) The Equitable Access to Job Opportunity Pilot Program is hereby established as a pilot program to provide individuals without postsecondary education degrees from rural or low-income communities with financial aid that covers the full cost of attendance in any workforce development training and education needed to gain employment in key industries, including tuition and fees, housing, and books.

(b) The pilot program shall be operative from January 1, 2024, to January 1, 2025, inclusive.

19001.

 For purposes of this division:

(a) “Board” means the California Workforce Development Board.

(b) “Office” means the Office of Planning and Research.

(c) “Pilot program” means the Equitable Access to Job Opportunity Pilot Program established pursuant to this division.

19002.

 (a) The board and the office shall administer the pilot program in accordance with this division.

(b) The board and the office shall identify key industries and develop partnerships, pathways, and opportunities to ensure local development of those industries by working with local workforce investment boards, employers, unions, and other relevant local stakeholders. The identification of key industries shall be based on goals established in California, including, but not limited to, climate change goals, renewable energy production goals, recycling goals, workforce development and educational attainment goals, as well ensuring the delivery of health care.

19003.

 The board and the office shall be tasked with providing all of the following:

(a) Wraparound services including, but not limited to, job or interview preparation, childcare, housing, health care, transportation, and other nonwage benefits.

(b) Determining eligibility for individuals participating in the program, and supporting individuals in accessing benefits.

19004.

 The board and the office shall use existing resources to help meet the purposes of the pilot program, subject to the availability of funding in the act that added this section or the annual Budget Act.

19005.

 The board and the office shall be required to work with local stakeholders, including, but not limited to, local workforce investment boards, employers, unions, and community-based organizations, in securing job opportunities and building pathways and partnerships to secure and create those opportunities.

19006.

 (a) On or before January 1, 2026, the board and the office shall report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program, including how successful the program is at recruiting participants from targeted populations, integrating the program within local jurisdictions, providing pathways and opportunities for employment, and effectiveness at utilizing existing resources and programming.

(b) The report shall be submitted to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795.

19007.

 This division shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.

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 career-oriented 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.

(E)Aligning employment programs, resources, and planning efforts regionally around industry sectors that drive regional employment to connect services and training directly to jobs.

(2)State and local workforce development 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 career technical education and basic skills programs, apprenticeships, community college career technical education and basic skills programs, entrepreneurship training programs, where appropriate, the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program, the Employment Training Panel, and county-based social and employment services, to better align resources across workforce, training, education, and social service delivery systems and build a well-articulated workforce investment system by accomplishing the following:

(A)Adopting local and regional training and education strategies which include workplace-based earn and learn programs 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.

(A)Workforce investment programs and services shall encourage industry involvement by developing strong partnerships with an industry’s employers and the unions that represent the industry’s workers.

(B)Workforce investment programs and services may consider the needs of employers and businesses of all sizes, including large, medium, small, and microenterprises, when setting priorities, investing resources, and adopting practices.

(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, the self-employed, 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.

(c)The California Workforce Development Board shall specifically target investment towards critical industries, including public health, mental health, prekindergarten education, skilled home nursing and caregiving, and skilled trades necessary for critical infrastructure development for the state’s clean energy needs.