Bill Text: NJ AR212 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Urges Congress and President to enact legislation that creates federal tax credit for hiring new apprentices.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6)

Status: (Passed) 2017-06-22 - Filed with Secretary of State [AR212 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2016-AR212-Amended.html

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[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 212

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

217th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 15, 2017

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  GARY S. SCHAER

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Urges Congress and President to enact legislation that creates federal tax credit for hiring new apprentices.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Assembly Labor Committee on June 15, 2017, with amendments.

 

An Assembly Resolution urging Congress and the President to enact legislation that creates a federal tax credit for hiring new apprentices.

 

Whereas, Currently, there are over 7.6 million unemployed Americans, yet millions of jobs remain unfilled as many companies struggle to find qualified workers to fill available positions; and

Whereas, According to a 2010 report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2018 the United States will face a shortage of over 7 million workers with recognized postsecondary credentials; and

Whereas, The Brookings Institution has also estimated that approximately 45 percent of all jobs over the next decade will be in "middle skill" occupations, which require more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor's degree; and

Whereas, A common sense solution to our county's unemployment and skilled labor gap challenges is the expansion of apprenticeship programs, in which businesses hire workers and provide them with the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation through a combination of on-the-job training and related instruction; and

Whereas, Registered apprenticeship programs, regulated and administered by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) Office of Apprenticeship and state apprenticeship agencies, are an efficient way to ensure employer needs are matched with employee skills; and

Whereas, Upon program completion, apprentices are issued a nationally recognized credential that certifies their skills and proficiency, and provides the foundation for living wages and career advancement; and

Whereas, Despite the benefits of apprenticeship programs, only approximately 0.2 percent of the nation's workforce is employed through such programs; and

Whereas, In order for apprenticeships to effectively combat unemployment and the skilled labor gap, Congress and the President of the United States must push forward policies that encourage businesses to invest in the workforce through apprenticeship programs; and

Whereas, An example of such an initiative is the "Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs Act" or the "LEAP Act," which provides a federal tax credit for businesses that hire new apprentices that are registered with the USDOL Office of Apprenticeship or a state apprenticeship agency; and

Whereas, The "LEAP Act" was introduced in Congress in February of 2015 through bipartisan support, ¹[but] and¹ has ¹[yet to be] been¹ re-introduced ¹by Senators Scott and Booker¹ in the current legislative session; and

Whereas, Through this type of tax credit program, Congress and the President can establish significant financial incentives for American businesses to participate in and grow the nation's apprenticeship programs, thereby creating jobs and providing opportunity for the country's workforce; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

1.         This House respectfully urges Congress and the President of the United States to enact ¹the "Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs Act" or other¹ legislation that creates a federal tax credit for hiring new apprentices.

 

2.         Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the United States Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.