S-4900.1  _______________________________________________

           SUBSTITUTE SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8421

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1994 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Trade, Technology & Economic Development (originally sponsored by Senators Skratek, Newhouse, Vognild, Moore, Amondson, Prentice, Sutherland, Fraser, McAuliffe, Snyder, M. Rasmussen and Winsley)

Read first time 02/04/94.

Creating the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Training and Retraining.

    WHEREAS, The legislature continues to recognize the vital role that training and retraining programs and services play in equipping the state's work force and businesses to be competitive in global markets; and

    WHEREAS, Legislative action in recent years establishing the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board was an integral step in developing a strategic approach to work force development in Washington; and

    WHEREAS, The Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board is developing the state's first comprehensive plan for work force training; and

    WHEREAS, A recent report of the 1993 Joint Legislative Task Force on Unemployment Insurance highlighted the need for greater coordination between the existing sixty-three training and education and related programs contained in thirteen agencies within state government; and

    WHEREAS, The federal government has initiated a major policy initiative within the United States Department of Labor to better serve the training and retraining needs of the unemployed within the United States; and

    WHEREAS, The sixty-three training and education and related programs and the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board's comprehensive plan span the subject areas of at least eight standing committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives; and

    WHEREAS, The legislature seeks to address the challenges and opportunities outlined by the Joint Legislative Task Force's report and assist the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the state of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, That the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Training and Retraining be established; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That there be eight voting committee members chosen as follows:  Four members of the Senate,  two from each of the two largest caucuses appointed by the President of the Senate; and four members of the House of Representatives, two from each of the two largest caucuses appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee select a chair from among its own members; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee have nonvoting advisory members selected by the voting members to represent business and labor organizations currently involved in educational and training partnerships with educational institutions and such other organizations or interests as the committee chooses; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate and the House of Representatives provide staffing to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Training and Retraining; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That nonlegislative members be reimbursed for travel in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 and that legislative members be reimbursed for travel in accordance with RCW 44.04.120; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee review the existing training and employment programs within Washington state, receive and review the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board's comprehensive plan for work force training and education and its report, mandated by RCW 50.12.261, on establishing a job training trust fund and uniform distribution criteria, and report to the legislature with recommendations on mechanisms for improving the coordination, services, and accountability of the state's work force training and education system, and on those programs that should be eliminated, combined, continued, or expanded; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee, in making its recommendations, consider program policies, program efficiency, and program performance along with other factors deemed appropriate; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee report to the legislature by January 31, 1995.

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