E2SHB 2227 -
By Senator Rockefeller
ADOPTED AND ENGROSSED 04/16/2009
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1
The legislature believes that these investments and initiatives
will significantly increase demand for production of renewable energy
and installation of energy efficiency retrofits. The legislature
recognizes that these demands will cultivate job opportunities for
Washington state residents during economic downturns as such
investments are particularly valuable during those times. The
legislature also finds that the state's residents and economy may be
unable to take full advantage of these opportunities if there is a
shortage of workers with the skills needed for jobs in renewable energy
and energy efficiency.
Further, the legislature finds that the current state and federal
economic climate lends itself to the acceleration of the greening of
the Washington economy, and presents an opportunity for Washington to
take its place as a leader in the green economy of the future. The
legislature recognizes that in order to most efficiently and
effectively capture and use existing and new funding streams and ensure
that Washington does in fact become a leader in the green economy, the
use of stimulus funds must be monitored to ensure that local
organizations participating in the programs receive the state support
they need.
Therefore, the legislature intends that Washington state accelerate
the greening of its economy by creating a highly skilled green jobs
workforce by emphasizing green jobs skills within existing education
and training funds through the evergreen jobs initiative. The
legislature intends to establish the evergreen jobs initiative to
ensure that the state's workforce is prepared for the new green
economy; the state attracts investment and job creation in the green
economy; the state is a net exporter of green industry products and
services, with special attention to renewable energy technology and
components; and Washington is a national and world leader in the green
economy.
To achieve these ends, the evergreen jobs initiative will create a
comprehensive and responsive framework to assist Washington in
receiving at least a per capita share of federal stimulus funds and to
ensure that state and local agencies and organizations receive the
institutional support they need to capture and effectively use those
funds.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2
(1) Creating fifteen thousand new green economy jobs by 2020, with
a target of thirty percent of those jobs going to veterans, members of
the national guard, and low-income and disadvantaged populations;
(2) Capturing and deploying federal funds in a focused, effective,
and coordinated manner;
(3) Preparing the state's workforce to take full advantage of green
economy job opportunities and to meet the recruitment and training
needs of industry and small businesses;
(4) Attracting private sector investment that will create new and
expand existing jobs, with an emphasis on services and products that
have a high economic or environmental impact and can be exported
domestically and internationally;
(5) Making Washington state a net exporter of green industry
products and services, with special attention to renewable energy
technology and components;
(6) Empowering local agencies and organizations to recruit green
economy businesses and jobs into the state by providing state support
and assistance;
(7) Capitalizing on existing partnership agreements in the
Washington works plan and the Washington workforce compact; and
(8) Operating in concert with the fourteen guiding principles
identified by the department in its Washington state's green economy
strategic framework.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4
(a) Coordinate efforts across the state to ensure that federal
training and education funds are captured and deployed in a focused and
effective manner in order to support green economy projects and
accomplish the goals of the evergreen jobs initiative;
(b) Accelerate and coordinate efforts by state and local
organizations to identify, apply for, and secure all sources of funds,
particularly those created by the 2009 American recovery and
reinvestment act, and to ensure that distributions of funding to local
organizations are allocated in a manner that is time-efficient and
user-friendly for the local organizations. Local organizations
eligible to receive support include but are not limited to:
(i) Associate development organizations;
(ii) Workforce development councils;
(iii) Public utility districts; and
(iv) Community action agencies;
(c) Support green economy projects at both the state and local
level by developing a process and a framework to provide, at a minimum:
(i) Administrative and technical assistance;
(ii) Assistance with and expediting of permit processes; and
(iii) Priority consideration of opportunities leading to exportable
green economy goods and services, including renewable energy
technology;
(d) Coordinate local and state implementation of projects using
federal funds to ensure implementation is time-efficient and user-friendly for local organizations;
(e) Emphasize through both support and outreach efforts, projects
that:
(i) Have a strong and lasting economic or environmental impact;
(ii) Lead to a domestically or internationally exportable good or
service, including renewable energy technology;
(iii) Create training programs leading to a credential,
certificate, or degree in a green economy field;
(iv) Strengthen the state's competitiveness in a particular sector
or cluster of the green economy;
(v) Create employment opportunities for veterans, members of the
national guard, and low-income and disadvantaged populations;
(vi) Comply with prevailing wage provisions of chapter 39.12 RCW;
(vii) Ensure at least fifteen percent of labor hours are performed
by apprentices;
(f) Identify emerging technologies and innovations that are likely
to contribute to advancements in the green economy, including the
activities in designated innovation partnership zones established in
RCW 43.330.270;
(g) Identify statewide performance metrics for projects receiving
agency assistance. Such metrics may include:
(i) The number of new green jobs created each year, their wage
levels, and, to the extent determinable, the percentage of new green
jobs filled by veterans, members of the national guard, and low-income
and disadvantaged populations;
(ii) The total amount of new federal funding secured, the
respective amounts allocated to the state and local levels, and the
timeliness of deployment of new funding by state agencies to the local
level;
(iii) The timeliness of state deployment of funds and support to
local organizations; and
(iv) If available, the completion rates, time to completion, and
training-related placement rates for green economy postsecondary
training programs;
(h) Identify strategies to allocate existing and new funding
streams for green economy workforce training programs and education to
emphasize those leading to a credential, certificate, or degree in a
green economy field;
(i) Identify and implement strategies to allocate existing and new
funding streams for workforce development councils and associate
development organizations to increase their effectiveness and
efficiency and increase local capacity to respond rapidly and
comprehensively to opportunities to attract green jobs to local
communities;
(j) Develop targeting criteria for existing investments that are
consistent with the economic development commission's economic
development strategy and the goals of this section and sections 8, 9,
and 12 of this act; and
(k) Make and support outreach efforts so that residents of
Washington, particularly members of target populations, become aware of
educational and employment opportunities identified and funded through
the evergreen jobs act.
(2) The department and the workforce board, in consultation with
the leadership team, must provide semiannual performance reports to the
governor and appropriate committees of the legislature on:
(a) Actual statewide performance based on the performance measures
identified in subsection (1)(g) of this section;
(b) How the state is emphasizing and supporting projects that lead
to a domestically or internationally exportable good or service,
including renewable energy technology;
(c) A list of projects supported, created, or funded in furtherance
of the goals of the evergreen jobs initiative and the actions taken by
state and local organizations, including the effectiveness of state
agency support provided to local organizations as directed in
subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this section;
(d) Recommendations for new or expanded financial incentives and
comprehensive strategies to:
(i) Recruit, retain, and expand green economy industries and small
businesses; and
(ii) Stimulate research and development of green technology and
innovation, which may include designating innovation partnership zones
linked to the green economy;
(e) Any information that associate development organizations and
workforce development councils choose to provide to appropriate
legislative committees regarding the effectiveness, timeliness, and
coordination of support provided by state agencies under this section
and sections 8, 9, and 12 of this act; and
(f) Any recommended statutory changes necessary to increase the
effectiveness of the evergreen jobs initiative and state responsiveness
to local agencies and organizations.
(3) The definitions, designations, and results of the employment
security department's broader labor market research under RCW
43.330.010 shall inform the planning and strategic direction of the
department, the state workforce training and education coordinating
board, the state board for community and technical colleges, and the
higher education coordinating board.
Sec. 5 RCW 43.330.010 and 2007 c 322 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) "Associate development organization" means a local economic
development nonprofit corporation that is broadly representative of
community interests.
(2) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and
economic development.
(3) "Director" means the director of the department of community,
trade, and economic development.
(4) "Financial institution" means a bank, trust company, mutual
savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union authorized
to do business in this state under state or federal law.
(5) "Microenterprise development organization" means a community
development corporation, a nonprofit development organization, a
nonprofit social services organization or other locally operated
nonprofit entity that provides services to low-income entrepreneurs.
(6) "Statewide microenterprise association" means a nonprofit
entity with microenterprise development organizations as members that
serves as an intermediary between the department of community, trade,
and economic development and local microenterprise development
organizations.
(7) "Apprentice" means an apprentice enrolled in an apprenticeship
training program approved by the Washington state apprenticeship
council.
(8) "High-demand occupation" means an occupation with a substantial
number of current or projected employment opportunities.
(9) "Labor hours" means the total hours of workers receiving an
hourly wage who are directly employed on the site of the project. This
includes hours performed by workers employed by the contractor and all
subcontractors working on the project but does not include hours worked
by foremen, superintendents, and owners.
(10) "Leadership team" means the leadership team created by the
department in section 3 of this act.
(11) "State board" means the state board for community and
technical colleges created in RCW 28B.50.050.
(12) "Target populations" means:
(a) Entry-level or incumbent workers who are in, or are preparing
for, middle or high-wage, high-demand occupations in the green economy;
(b) Dislocated workers in declining industries who may be retrained
for middle or high-wage occupations in the green economy;
(c) Eligible veterans or national guard members;
(d) Disadvantaged populations; or
(e) Anyone eligible to participate in the state opportunity grant
program under RCW 28B.50.271.
(13) "Workforce board" means the workforce training and education
coordinating board created in RCW 28C.18.020.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7
(2) The leadership team, in consultation with the department, the
state board, and the workforce board, shall direct the delivery of
education and training resource moneys, provided in the omnibus
appropriations act, to establish workforce training and apprenticeship
programs to meet the demand for workers trained in energy audit and
energy efficiency services and to serve the programs established in
chapter . . ., Laws of 2009 (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill
No. 5649). Moneys must be used to fund training programs that satisfy
the strategic plan developed under chapter . . ., Laws of 2009
(Substitute Senate Bill No. 5921).
(a) Training resource moneys may be provided to energy audit and
energy efficiency services educational programs for the following
purposes:
(i) To develop and deploy curricula and training programs in
accordance with this section;
(ii) To expand existing high school, community and technical
college, journey-level skills improvement and apprenticeship training
programs, and community-based training programs providing energy audit
and energy efficiency services training;
(iii) To implement new training programs developed under the terms
of this section;
(iv) To supplement internship, preapprenticeship, and
apprenticeship programs using curricula developed under this section;
(v) To recruit people into these training programs; and
(vi) For other training activities identified by the department to
supplement and expand the skills of the existing workforce.
(b) The department must, in consultation with the workforce board
and the leadership team, prioritize educational programs that:
(i) Provide convincing evidence that they are able to provide the
requisite skills education and training expeditiously; or
(ii) Provide skills education and training services to underserved
and disadvantaged communities in the state, in accordance with this
section. This may include, but is not limited to, at-risk youth
seeking employment pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency. The department and workforce board shall consult with the
employment security department to create a strategy to ensure that the
workers who receive training under these programs are provided with the
type of employment opportunities contemplated by this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 A new section is added to chapter 28C.18 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Conduct labor market and industry analyses, in consultation
with the employment security department, and drawing on the findings of
its research when available;
(b) Recommend strategies to meet the recruitment and training needs
of the industry and small businesses; and
(c) Recommend strategies to leverage and align other public and
private funding sources.
(2) The board may prioritize workforce training programs that lead
to a credential, certificate, or degree in green economy jobs. For
purposes of this section, green economy jobs include those in the
primary industries of a green economy, including clean energy, high-efficiency building, green transportation, and environmental
protection. Prioritization efforts may include but are not limited to:
(a) Prioritization of the use of high employer-demand funding for
workforce training programs in green economy jobs; (b) increased
outreach efforts to public utilities, education, labor, government, and
private industry to develop tailored, green job training programs; and
(c) increased outreach efforts to target populations. Outreach efforts
may be conducted in partnership with local workforce development
councils.
(3) The definitions in RCW 43.330.010 apply to this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW
to read as follows:
(2) The board shall target a portion of any federal stimulus
funding received to ensure commensurate capacity for high employer-demand programs of study developed under this section. To that end,
the state board must coordinate with the department, the leadership
team, the workforce board, or another appropriate state agency in the
application for and receipt of any funding that may be made available
through the federal youthbuild program, workforce investment act, job
corps, or other relevant federal programs.
(3) The board shall provide an interim report to the appropriate
committees of the legislature by December 1, 2011, and a final report
by December 1, 2013, detailing the effectiveness of, and any
recommendations for improving, the worker training curricula and
programs established in this section.
(4) Existing curricula and training programs or programs provided
by community and technical colleges in the state developed under this
section must be recognized as programs of study under RCW 28B.50.273.
(5) Subject to available funding, the board may grant enrollment
priority to persons who qualify for a waiver under RCW 28B.15.522 and
who enroll in curricula and training programs provided by community or
technical colleges in the state that have been developed in accordance
with this section.
(6) The college board may prioritize workforce training programs
that lead to a credential, certificate, or degree in green economy
jobs. For purposes of this section, green economy jobs include those
in the primary industries of a green economy including clean energy,
high-efficiency building, green transportation, and environmental
protection. Prioritization efforts may include but are not limited to:
(a) Prioritization of the use of high employer-demand funding for
workforce training programs in green economy jobs, if the programs meet
minimum criteria for identification as a high-demand program of study
as defined by the state board for community and technical colleges,
however any additional community and technical college high-demand
funding authorized for the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium and thereafter may
be subject to prioritization; (b) increased outreach efforts to public
utilities, education, labor, government, and private industry to
develop tailored, green job training programs; and (c) increased
outreach efforts to target populations. Outreach efforts shall be
conducted in partnership with local workforce development councils.
(7) The definitions in RCW 43.330.010 apply to this section and
section 10 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 A new section is added to chapter 28B.50
RCW to read as follows:
(1) These grant funds may be used for, but are not limited to uses
for:
(a) Curriculum development;
(b) Transitional jobs strategies for dislocated workers in
declining industries who may be retrained for high-wage occupations in
green industries;
(c) Workforce education to target populations;
(d) Adult basic and remedial education as necessary linked to
occupation skills training; and
(e) Coordinated outreach efforts by institutions of higher
education and workforce development councils.
(2) These grant funds may not be used for student assistance and
support services available through the state opportunity grant program
under RCW 28B.50.271.
(3) Applicants eligible to receive these grants may be any
organization or a partnership of organizations that has demonstrated
expertise in:
(a) Implementing effective education and training programs that
meet industry demand; and
(b) Recruiting and supporting, to successful completion of those
training programs carried out under these grants, the target
populations of workers.
(4) In awarding grants from the evergreen jobs training account,
the state board shall give priority to applicants that demonstrate the
ability to:
(a) Use labor market and industry analysis developed by the
employment security department and green industry skill panels in the
design and delivery of the relevant education and training program, and
otherwise use strategies developed by green industry skill panels;
(b) Leverage and align existing public programs and resources and
private resources toward the goal of recruiting, supporting, educating,
and training target populations of workers;
(c) Work collaboratively with other relevant stakeholders in the
regional economy;
(d) Link adult basic and remedial education, where necessary, with
occupation skills training;
(e) Involve employers and, where applicable, labor unions in the
determination of relevant skills and competencies and, where relevant,
the validation of career pathways; and
(f) Ensure that supportive services, where necessary, are
integrated with education and training and are delivered by
organizations with direct access to and experience with the targeted
population of workers.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 A new section is added to chapter 50.12 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Conduct and update labor market research on a biennial basis to
analyze the current public and private labor market and projected job
growth in the green economy, the current and projected recruitment and
skill requirement of public and private green economy employers, the
wage and benefits ranges of jobs within green economy industries, and
the education and training requirements of entry-level and incumbent
workers in those industries;
(2) Propose which industries will be considered high-demand green
industries, based on current and projected job creation and their
strategic importance to the development of the state's green economy;
and
(3) Define which family-sustaining wage and benefits ranges within
green economy industries will be considered middle or high-wage
occupations and occupations that are part of career pathways to the
same.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 A new section is added to chapter 49.04 RCW
to read as follows:
(2) The council may prioritize workforce training programs that
lead to apprenticeship programs in green economy jobs. For purposes of
this section, green economy jobs include those in the primary
industries of a green economy, including clean energy, the forestry
industry, high-efficiency building, green transportation, and
environmental protection. Prioritization efforts may include but are
not limited to: (a) Prioritization of the use of high employer-demand
funding for workforce training programs in green economy jobs; (b)
increased outreach efforts to public utilities, education, labor,
government, and private industry to develop tailored, green job
training programs; and (c) increased outreach efforts to target
populations. Outreach efforts shall be conducted in partnership with
local workforce development councils.
(3) The definitions in RCW 43.330.010 apply to this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 Sections 2 through 4, 6, and 7 of this act
are each added to chapter
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17 Captions used in this act are not any part
of the law."
E2SHB 2227 -
By Senator Rockefeller
ADOPTED AND ENGROSSED 04/16/2009
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "jobs;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 43.330.010; adding new sections to chapter 43.330 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28C.18 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 28B.50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.12 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 49.04 RCW; creating new sections; and repealing RCW 43.330.310."