BILL REQ. #:  H-4773.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/02/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to expanding the percentage of households living in the middle-income bracket; amending RCW 28C.18.060; reenacting and amending RCW 28C.18.080; adding a new section to chapter 28B.50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.330 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.12 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.20A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.41 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the proportion of people living in middle-income families has declined from fifty-one percent in 1979 to forty-two percent in 2007, and the current economic crisis has likely exacerbated this decline. The legislature further finds that when economic recovery occurs, it must result in more of Washington's families living in the middle-income bracket or higher over the long term. Not only does expanding the proportion of people living in middle-income families strengthen society, it will reduce state expenditures by reducing caseloads in medical, social services, and corrections programs, and increase state revenue by increasing individual incomes.
     The legislature also finds that with this financial crisis comes the opportunity to move government away from paying state agencies for process, and toward paying for actual accomplishment of measurable results. The legislature therefore intends to seize this opportunity and move more people out of dependence and into independent, livable wage jobs, by mandating that agencies work together in a coordinated and result-driven manner to improve services to Washingtonians. Accomplishing this will require teamwork across multiple state agencies, including the department of social and health services, the department of commerce, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the state board for community and technical colleges, and the employment security department. By acting strategically at this decisive moment in the state's economic history, the legislature intends to reverse the trend of the last thirty years and begin a gradual and sustained increase in the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or above.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The college board shall adopt as one of its goals to increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher. The college board shall delineate specific strategies to reach the goal in existing agency planning documents as they are updated, including strategic and operational plans. The plans should include but not be limited to recruiting and retaining more people into skills training leading to middle-income occupations and increasing education and training capacity for skills training that leads to middle-income careers.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "middle-income bracket" has the definition in RCW 28C.18.080.
     (3) The college board shall submit to the board and the office of financial management its specific agency strategies to increase the percent of people living in the middle-income bracket or higher.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt as one of its goals to increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher. The superintendent shall delineate specific strategies to reach the goal in existing agency planning documents as they are updated, including strategic and operational plans. The plans should include but not be limited to reducing high school dropout rates, increasing education and training capacity for skills training that leads to middle-income careers, and providing internships and preapprenticeship experiences to high school students to allow them to experience high-demand occupations. In existing communications, and using existing information from the workforce training and education coordinating board, workforce development centers, the employment security department, or other entities, the superintendent shall inform students and parents of local careers that do not require a four-year degree and that lead to incomes in the middle-income bracket or higher.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "middle-income bracket" has the definition in RCW 28C.18.080.
     (3) As agency planning documents are updated, the superintendent of public instruction shall submit to the workforce training and education coordinating board and the office of financial management its specific agency strategies to increase the percent of people living in the middle-income bracket or higher.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall adopt as one of its goals to increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher. The department shall delineate specific strategies to reach the goal in existing agency planning documents as they are updated, including strategic and operational plans. The plans should include but not be limited to recruiting and retaining more people into skills training leading to middle-income occupations and focusing economic development strategies on growing and attracting jobs that allow Washington households to live in the middle-income bracket or higher.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "middle-income bracket" has the definition in RCW 28C.18.080.
     (3) As agency planning documents are updated, the department shall submit to the workforce training and education coordinating board and the office of financial management its specific agency strategies to increase the percent of people living in the middle-income bracket or higher.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 50.12 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The commissioner shall adopt as one of the department's goals to increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher. The commissioner shall delineate specific strategies to reach the goal in existing agency planning documents as they are updated, including strategic and operational plans. The plans should include but not be limited to recruiting and retaining more people into skills training leading to middle-income occupations, and providing income support to individuals while they are in such training.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "middle-income bracket" has the definition in RCW 28C.18.080.
     (3) As agency planning documents are updated, the commissioner shall submit to the workforce training and education coordinating board and the office of financial management the department's specific strategies to increase the percent of people living in the middle-income bracket or higher.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 43.20A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The secretary shall adopt as one of the department's goals to increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket. The secretary shall delineate specific strategies to reach the goal in existing agency planning documents as they are updated, including strategic and operational plans. The plans should include but not be limited to focusing on temporary assistance to needy families, WorkFirst, state general assistance, basic food training and employment, vocational rehabilitation, and other appropriate social service programs and employment in careers that lead to middle-income earnings or higher, and to the extent practicable, reductions in teen pregnancy, and drug and alcohol abuse prevention.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "middle-income bracket" has the definition in RCW 28C.18.080.
     (3) As agency planning documents are updated, the secretary shall submit to the workforce training and education coordinating board and the office of financial management the department's specific strategies for WorkFirst, state general assistance, vocational rehabilitation, the temporary assistance for needy families program, the basic food employment and training program, and other appropriate social service programs as they relate to increasing the percent of people living in the middle-income bracket or higher.

Sec. 7   RCW 28C.18.060 and 2009 c 151 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     The board, in cooperation with the operating agencies of the state training system and private career schools and colleges, shall:
     (1) Concentrate its major efforts on planning, coordination evaluation, policy analysis, and recommending improvements to the state's training system;
     (2) Advocate for the state training system and for meeting the needs of employers and the workforce for workforce education and training;
     (3) Establish and maintain an inventory of the programs of the state training system, and related state programs, and perform a biennial assessment of the vocational education, training, and adult basic education and literacy needs of the state; identify ongoing and strategic education needs; and assess the extent to which employment, training, vocational and basic education, rehabilitation services, and public assistance services represent a consistent, integrated approach to meet such needs;
     (4) Develop and maintain a state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education, including but not limited to, goals, objectives, and priorities for the state training system, and review the state training system for consistency with the state comprehensive plan. In developing the state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education, the board shall use, but shall not be limited to: Economic, labor market, and populations trends reports in office of financial management forecasts; joint office of financial management and employment security department labor force, industry employment, and occupational forecasts; the results of scientifically based outcome, net-impact and cost-benefit evaluations; the needs of employers as evidenced in formal employer surveys and other employer input; and the needs of program participants and workers as evidenced in formal surveys and other input from program participants and the labor community;
     (5) In consultation with the higher education coordinating board, review and make recommendations to the office of financial management and the legislature on operating and capital facilities budget requests for operating agencies of the state training system for purposes of consistency with the state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education;
     (6) Provide for coordination among the different operating agencies and components of the state training system at the state level and at the regional level;
     (7) Develop a consistent and reliable database on vocational education enrollments, costs, program activities, and job placements from publicly funded vocational education programs in this state;
     (8)(a) Establish standards for data collection and maintenance for the operating agencies of the state training system in a format that is accessible to use by the board. The board shall require a minimum of common core data to be collected by each operating agency of the state training system;
     (b) Develop requirements for minimum common core data in consultation with the office of financial management and the operating agencies of the training system;
     (9) Establish minimum standards for program evaluation for the operating agencies of the state training system, including, but not limited to, the use of common survey instruments and procedures for measuring perceptions of program participants and employers of program participants, and monitor such program evaluation;
     (10) Every two years administer scientifically based outcome evaluations of the state training system, including, but not limited to, surveys of program participants, surveys of employers of program participants, and matches with employment security department payroll and wage files. Every five years administer scientifically based net-impact and cost-benefit evaluations of the state training system;
     (11) In cooperation with the employment security department, provide for the improvement and maintenance of quality and utility in occupational information and forecasts for use in training system planning and evaluation. Improvements shall include, but not be limited to, development of state-based occupational change factors involving input by employers and employees, and delineation of skill and training requirements by education level associated with current and forecasted occupations;
     (12) Provide for the development of common course description formats, common reporting requirements, and common definitions for operating agencies of the training system;
     (13) Provide for effectiveness and efficiency reviews of the state training system;
     (14) In cooperation with the higher education coordinating board, facilitate transfer of credit policies and agreements between institutions of the state training system, and encourage articulation agreements for programs encompassing two years of secondary workforce education and two years of postsecondary workforce education;
     (15) In cooperation with the higher education coordinating board, facilitate transfer of credit policies and agreements between private training institutions and institutions of the state training system;
     (16) Develop policy objectives for the workforce investment act, P.L. 105-220, or its successor; develop coordination criteria for activities under the act with related programs and services provided by state and local education and training agencies; and ensure that entrepreneurial training opportunities are available through programs of each local workforce investment board in the state;
     (17) Make recommendations to the commission of student assessment, the state board of education, and the superintendent of public instruction, concerning basic skill competencies and essential core competencies for K-12 education. Basic skills for this purpose shall be reading, writing, computation, speaking, and critical thinking, essential core competencies for this purpose shall be English, math, science/technology, history, geography, and critical thinking. The board shall monitor the development of and provide advice concerning secondary curriculum which integrates vocational and academic education;
     (18) Establish and administer programs for marketing and outreach to businesses and potential program participants;
     (19) Facilitate the location of support services, including but not limited to, child care, financial aid, career counseling, and job placement services, for students and trainees at institutions in the state training system, and advocate for support services for trainees and students in the state training system;
     (20) Facilitate private sector assistance for the state training system, including but not limited to: Financial assistance, rotation of private and public personnel, and vocational counseling;
     (21) Facilitate the development of programs for school-to-work transition that combine classroom education and on-the-job training, including entrepreneurial education and training, in industries and occupations without a significant number of apprenticeship programs;
     (22) Include in the planning requirements for local workforce investment boards a requirement that the local workforce investment boards specify how entrepreneurial training is to be offered through the one-stop system required under the workforce investment act, P.L. 105-220, or its successor;
     (23) Encourage and assess progress for the equitable representation of racial and ethnic minorities, women, and people with disabilities among the students, teachers, and administrators of the state training system. Equitable, for this purpose, shall mean substantially proportional to their percentage of the state population in the geographic area served. This function of the board shall in no way lessen more stringent state or federal requirements for representation of racial and ethnic minorities, women, and people with disabilities;
     (24) Participate in the planning and policy development of governor set-aside grants under P.L. 97-300, as amended;
     (25) Administer veterans' programs, licensure of private vocational schools, the job skills program, and the Washington award for vocational excellence;
     (26) Allocate funding from the state job training trust fund;
     (27) Work with the director of ((community, trade, and economic development)) commerce and the economic development commission to ensure coordination among workforce training priorities, the long-term economic development strategy of the economic development commission, and economic development and entrepreneurial development efforts, including but not limited to assistance to industry clusters;
     (28) Conduct research into workforce development programs designed to reduce the high unemployment rate among young people between approximately eighteen and twenty-four years of age. In consultation with the operating agencies, the board shall advise the governor and legislature on policies and programs to alleviate the high unemployment rate among young people. The research shall include disaggregated demographic information and, to the extent possible, income data for adult youth. The research shall also include a comparison of the effectiveness of programs examined as a part of the research conducted in this subsection in relation to the public investment made in these programs in reducing unemployment of young adults. The board shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 15, 2008, and every two years thereafter. Where possible, the data reported to the legislative committees should be reported in numbers and in percentages;
     (29) Review agency submissions, pursuant to sections 2 through 6 of this act and rate the proposed strategies based on criteria adopted by the board. The ratings shall be developed annually, concurrent with annual progress reports on the state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education. A report containing the ratings is due annually to the legislature by November 1st in even-numbered years and December 1st in odd-numbered years, beginning November 1, 2010;
     (30) Adopt rules as necessary to implement this chapter.
     The board may delegate to the director any of the functions of this section.

Sec. 8   RCW 28C.18.080 and 2009 c 421 s 6, 2009 c 151 s 7, and 2009 c 92 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) The board shall develop a state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education for a ten-year time period that incorporates information from the area comprehensive plans. The board shall submit the ten-year state comprehensive plan to the governor and the appropriate legislative policy committees. Every four years by December 1st, beginning December 1, 2012, the board shall submit an update of the ten-year state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education to the governor and the appropriate legislative policy committees.
     (b) Following public hearings, the legislature shall, by concurrent resolution, approve or recommend changes to the initial plan and the updates. The plan shall then become the state's workforce training policy unless legislation is enacted to alter the policies set forth in the plan.
     (2)(a) Area workforce development councils shall develop area comprehensive plans for workforce training and education for a ten-year time period. The area plans shall inform the development of the state comprehensive plan.
     (b) The area workforce development councils shall submit their respective ten-year area comprehensive plans to the board. Every four years by July 1st, beginning July 1, 2012, the area workforce development councils shall submit an update of their respective ten-year area comprehensive plans for workforce training and education to the board.
     (3) The comprehensive plan shall include workforce training role and mission statements for the workforce development programs of operating agencies represented on the board and sufficient specificity regarding expected actions by the operating agencies to allow them to carry out actions consistent with the comprehensive plan.
     (((3))) (a) The comprehensive plan developed by the board and the area comprehensive plans developed by the area workforce development councils shall delineate specific strategies to reach the goal of increasing the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher.
     (b) For purposes of this section and sections 2 through 6 and 9 of this act, "middle-income bracket" means family incomes between two hundred and five hundred percent of the 2009 federal poverty level, as determined by the United States department of health and human services for a family of four, adjusted annually for inflation. This is intended to create a clear and simple definition of the middle-income bracket that is highly transparent to the public and can be represented by a single dollar value. This definition does not preclude agencies and programs from using other measures for programmatic purposes, such as self-sufficiency measures or federal poverty level adjusted for household size.
     (4) Operating agencies represented on the board shall have operating plans for their workforce development efforts that are consistent with the comprehensive plan and that provide detail on implementation steps they will take to carry out their responsibilities under the plan. Each operating agency represented on the board shall provide an annual progress report to the board.
     (((4))) (5) The comprehensive plan shall include recommendations to the legislature and the governor on the modification, consolidation, initiation, or elimination of workforce training and education programs in the state.
     (((5))) (6) The comprehensive plan shall identify the strategic industry clusters targeted by the workforce development system. In identifying the strategic clusters, the board shall consult with the economic development commission to identify clusters that meet the criteria identified by the working group convened by the economic development commission and the workforce training and education coordinating board under RCW 43.330.280.
     (((6))) (7) The board shall report to the appropriate legislative policy committees by December 1st of each odd-numbered year and by November 1st of each even-numbered year on its progress in implementing the comprehensive plan and on the progress of the operating agencies in meeting their obligations under the plan.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A new section is added to chapter 43.41 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office, in partnership with the workforce training and education coordinating board, shall:
     (a) Annually estimate the percentage of Washington residents with incomes in the middle-income bracket or higher;
     (b) Beginning December 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, report the findings developed in this section to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "middle-income bracket" has the definition in RCW 28C.18.080.