READ FIRST TIME 02/09/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating the opportunity express program; amending RCW 28C.04.390 and 28C.18.164; adding a new section to chapter 28B.50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.24 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that in times of severe economic recession, the state has a special obligation to help unemployed and low-income citizens access the training and education necessary to help them find and keep living wage jobs. The legislature also finds that during times of recession, when state revenues are at their lowest, demand for education and training are at their highest, making it especially important for the legislature to set clear goals and make the most efficient use of limited state resources.
     (2) The legislature therefore intends to expand training and education programs, which have proven to be successful, to help Washington citizens receive the training they need. These programs include the worker retraining program, the opportunity grant program, and the opportunity internship program. The legislature further intends to create more effective intake and outreach systems to reach the greatest number of citizens and connect them to the resources they need, including college, apprenticeship, and preapprenticeship.
     (3) The legislature also intends to empower employers to make voluntary donations and invest in the training and education necessary to guarantee the availability of a skilled workforce. The legislature finds that, following enactment of legislation during the 2010 session, a modernization incentive payment of approximately ninety-eight million dollars will be transferred into the unemployment trust fund. This payment will be in addition to amounts previously made available to the state by section 903 of the social security act (Reed act) and by section 2003 of the American recovery and reinvestment act of 2009, of which more than sixty million dollars will be unspent at the end of the 2009-2011 biennium and more than thirty million dollars will be unspent at the end of the 2011-2013 biennium. The legislature also finds that, in times of severe economic recession, it is especially important for the legislature to prioritize the use of these amounts to make possible investments in training and education.

Sec. 2   RCW 28C.04.390 and 1999 c 121 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The college board worker retraining program funds shall be used for training programs and related support services, including financial aid, counseling, referral to training resources, job referral, and job development that:
     (a) Are consistent with the unified plan for workforce development;
     (b) Provide increased enrollments for dislocated workers;
     (c) Provide customized training opportunities for dislocated workers; and
     (d) Provide increased enrollments and support services, including financial aid for those students not receiving unemployment insurance benefits, that do not replace or supplant any existing enrollments, programs, support services, or funding sources.
     (2) The college board shall develop a plan for use of the worker retraining program funds in conjunction with the workforce training customer advisory committee established in subsection (3) of this section. In developing the plan the college board shall:
     (a) Provide that applicants for worker retraining program funds shall solicit financial support for training programs and give priority in receipt of funds to those applicants which are most successful in matching public dollars with financial support;
     (b) Provide that applicants for worker retraining program funds shall develop training programs in partnership with local businesses, industry associations, labor, and other partners as appropriate and give priority in receipt of funds to those applicants who develop customized training programs in partnership with local businesses, industry associations, and labor organizations;
     (c) Give priority in receipt of funds to those applicants serving rural areas;
     (d) Ensure that applicants receiving worker retraining program funds gather information from local workforce development councils on employer workforce needs, including the needs of businesses with less than twenty-five employees; ((and))
     (e) Provide for specialized vocational training at a private career school or college at the request of a recipient eligible under subsection (1)(b) of this section. Available tuition for the training is limited to the amount that would otherwise be payable per enrolled quarter to a public institution; and
     (f) Give priority in receipt of funds to those applicants working toward careers in the aerospace, health care, advanced manufacturing, construction, and renewable energy industries; high-demand occupations in strategic industry clusters identified in the state comprehensive plan and the workforce development councils' local comprehensive plans for workforce educational training as identified in RCW 28C.18.080 and 28C.18.150; and occupations and industries identified by community and technical colleges in collaboration with local workforce development councils. For purposes of this section, health care includes long-term care.
     (3) The executive director of the college board shall appoint a workforce training customer advisory committee by July 1, 1999, to:
     (a) Assist in the development of the plan for the use of the college board worker retraining program funds and recommend guidelines to the college board for the operation of worker retraining programs;
     (b) Recommend selection criteria for worker retraining programs and grant applicants for receipt of worker retraining program grants;
     (c) Provide advice to the college board on other workforce development activities of the community and technical colleges;
     (d) Recommend selection criteria for job skills grants, consistent with criteria established in this chapter and chapter 121, Laws of 1999. Such criteria shall include a prioritization of job skills applicants in rural areas;
     (e) Recommend guidelines to the college board for the operation of the job skills program; and
     (f) Recommend grant applicants for receipt of job skills program grants.
     (4) Members of the workforce training customer advisory committee shall consist of three college system representatives selected by the executive director of the college board, three representatives of business selected from nominations provided by statewide business organizations, and three representatives of labor selected from nominations provided by a statewide labor organization representing a cross-section of workers in the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     By July 1, 2010, and within existing resources, the college board may create a single web site for the purpose of advertising the availability of opportunity express funding to Washington citizens; explaining that opportunity express helps people who want to pursue college and apprenticeship for certain targeted industries; and explaining that opportunity express includes the following tracks: Worker retraining for unemployed adults; training programs approved by the commissioner of the employment security department, training programs administered by labor and management partnerships, and training programs prioritized by industry, for unemployed adults and incumbent workers; opportunity internships for high school students; and opportunity grants for low- income adults. The web site may also direct interested individuals to the appropriate local intake office. The web site may also include a link to the Washington state department of labor and industries apprenticeship program.

Sec. 4   RCW 28C.18.164 and 2009 c 238 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Opportunity internship consortia may apply to the board to offer an opportunity internship program.
     (a) The board, in consultation with the Washington state apprenticeship and training council, may select those consortia that demonstrate the strongest commitment and readiness to implement a high quality opportunity internship program for low-income high school students. The board shall place a priority on consortia with demonstrated experience working with similar populations of students and demonstrated capacity to assist a large number of students through the progression of internship or preapprenticeship, high school graduation, postsecondary education, and retention in a high-demand occupation. The board shall place a priority on programs that emphasize secondary career and technical education and nonbaccalaureate postsecondary education; however, programs that target four-year postsecondary degrees are eligible to participate.
     (b)(i) Except as provided in (b)(ii) of this subsection (1), the board shall enter into a contract with each consortium selected to participate in the program. No more than ten consortia per year shall be selected to participate in the program, and to the extent possible, the board shall assure a geographic distribution of consortia in regions across the state emphasizing a variety of targeted industries. Each consortium may select no more than one hundred low-income high school students per year to participate in the program.
     (ii) For fiscal years 2011 through 2013, the board shall enter into a contract with each consortium selected to participate in the program. No more than twelve consortia per year shall be selected to participate in the program, and to the extent possible, the board shall assure a geographic distribution of consortia in regions across the state emphasizing a variety of targeted industries. No more than five thousand low-income high school students per year may be selected to participate in the program.
     (2) Under the terms of an opportunity internship program contract, an opportunity internship consortium shall commit to the following activities which shall be conducted using existing federal, state, local, or private funds available to the consortium:
     (a) Identify high-demand occupations in targeted industries for which opportunity internships or preapprenticeships shall be developed and provided;
     (b) Develop and implement the components of opportunity internships, including paid or unpaid internships or preapprenticeships of at least ninety hours in length in high-demand occupations with employers in the consortium, mentoring and guidance for students who participate in the program, assistance with applications for postsecondary programs and financial aid, and a guarantee of a job interview with a participating employer for all opportunity internship graduates who successfully complete a postsecondary program of study;
     (c) Once the internship or preapprenticeship components have been developed, conduct outreach efforts to inform low-income high school students about high-demand occupations, the opportunity internship program, options for postsecondary programs of study, and the incentives and opportunities provided to students who participate in the program;
     (d) Obtain appropriate documentation of the low-income status of students who participate in the program;
     (e) Maintain communication with opportunity internship graduates of the consortium who enroll in postsecondary programs of study; and
     (f) Submit an annual report to the board on the progress of and participation in the opportunity internship program of the consortium.
     (3) Opportunity internship consortia are encouraged to:
     (a) Provide paid opportunity internships or preapprenticeships, including during the summer months to encourage students to stay enrolled in high school;
     (b) Work with high schools to offer opportunity internships as approved worksite learning experiences where students can earn high school credit;
     (c) Designate the local workforce development council as fiscal agent for the opportunity internship program contract;
     (d) Work with area high schools to incorporate the opportunity internship program into comprehensive guidance and counseling programs such as the navigation 101 program; and
     (e) Coordinate the opportunity internship program with other workforce development and postsecondary education programs, including opportunity grants, the college bound scholarship program, federal workforce investment act initiatives, and college access challenge grants.
     (4) The board shall seek federal funds that may be used to support the opportunity internship program, including providing the incentive payments under RCW 28C.18.168.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 50.24 RCW to read as follows:
     A separate and identifiable account, which shall be known as the opportunity express account, is established. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Moneys in the account shall be used only for the worker retraining program, training programs approved by the commissioner of the employment security department, training programs administered by labor and management partnerships, industry-prioritized training programs, training programs that facilitate career progression in health care occupations, the opportunity internship program, and the opportunity grant program, and for administrative costs related to these programs and collection of voluntary contributions under this section. Moneys in the account shall be used to supplement, not supplant, existing funding for the opportunity grant program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.