BILL REQ. #:  S-1771.2 

Read first time 02/24/09.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development.

     AN ACT Relating to expanding the college board worker retraining program; amending RCW 28C.04.390 and 28C.04.410; adding a new section to chapter 28C.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.39A RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 18.88B RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28C.04 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that it is an important function of state government to increase opportunities for gainful employment and expanded career opportunities for individuals in occupations necessary to support industries driving Washington's economy. Further, the legislature declares that it is equally important to support Washington's employer community by developing a pipeline of highly trained and skilled workers readily available to fill positions in high-demand occupations. The legislature intends to create training and skill development opportunities in disciplines for which there is high employer demand for Washingtonians who have been dislocated from occupations that are in declining demand and increase the availability of career ladders to incumbent workers in high-demand industries through the expansion of the existing worker retraining program.

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; and
     (e) Provide funding and education for dislocated and incumbent workers in high-demand fields of study, including health care.
     (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;
     (f) Develop training programs that facilitate career progression in health care occupations; and
     (g) Involve labor-management partnerships in the determination of relevant skills and competencies and the design of career pathways.
     (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.
     (5) The college board shall use existing public and private resources, including the training partnership under chapter 74.39A RCW, to achieve the goals of recruiting, supporting, and training persons working in health care fields, as they progress to higher levels of skilled care.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     The college board shall coordinate with the employment security department, the training partnership established in RCW 74.39A.360, and the board to implement the training system for persons working in health care fields designed by the college board, pursuant to section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 74.39A RCW to read as follows:
     The training partnership established in RCW 74.39A.360 shall work in collaboration with the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating board, and the employment security department to develop and implement the training system for persons working in health care fields designed by the college board, pursuant to section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 18.88B RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The hospital labor management training partnership shall work in collaboration with the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating board, and the employment security department in the development and implementation of the health care career ladder.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "hospital labor management training partnership" means a program that enables hospital workers to gain access to a college education in order to help them progress up the career ladder, increasing the availability of skilled workers in high demand health care fields.

Sec. 6   RCW 28C.04.410 and 1999 c 121 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout ((RCW 28C.04.390 and 28C.04.420)) this chapter.
     (1) "Applicant" means an educational institution which has made application for a job skills grant under RCW 28C.04.390 and 28C.04.420.
     (2) "Business and industry" means a private corporation, institution, firm, person, group, or association concerned with commerce, trades, manufacturing, or the provision of services within the state, or a public or nonprofit hospital licensed by the department of social and health services.
     (3) "College board" means the state board for community and technical colleges under chapter 28B.50 RCW.
     (4) "Dislocated worker" means an individual who meets the definition of dislocated worker contained in P.L. 105-220, Sec. 101 on July 25, 1999.
     (((4))) (5) "Educational institution" means a public secondary or postsecondary institution, an independent institution, or a private career school or college within the state authorized by law to provide a program of skills training or education beyond the secondary school level. Any educational institution receiving a job skills grant under RCW 28C.04.420 through 28C.04.480 shall be free of sectarian control or influence as set forth in Article IX, section 4 of the state Constitution.
     (((5))) (6) "Equipment" means tangible personal property which will further the objectives of the supported program and for which a definite value and evidence in support of the value have been provided by the donor.
     (((6))) (7) "Financial support" means any thing of value which is contributed by business, industry, and others to an educational institution which is reasonably calculated to support directly the development and expansion of a particular program under RCW 28C.04.390 and 28C.04.420 and represents an addition to any financial support previously or customarily provided to such educational institutions by the donor. "Financial support" includes, but is not limited to, funds, equipment, facilities, faculty, and scholarships for matriculating students and trainees.
     (((7))) (8) "Job skills grant" means funding that is provided to an educational institution by the commission for the development or significant expansion of a program under RCW 28C.04.390 and 28C.04.420.
     (((8))) (9) "Job skills program" means a program of skills training or education separate from and in addition to existing vocational education programs and which:
     (a) Provides short-term training which has been designated for specific industries;
     (b) Provides training for prospective employees before a new plant opens or when existing industry expands;
     (c) Includes training and retraining for workers already employed by an existing industry or business where necessary to avoid dislocation or where upgrading of existing employees would create new vacancies for unemployed persons;
     (d) Serves areas with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged persons and high unemployment;
     (e) Serves areas with new and growing industries;
     (f) Serves areas where there is a shortage of skilled labor to meet job demands; or
     (g) Promotes the location of new industry in areas affected by economic dislocation.
     (((9))) (10) "Labor-management partnership" means a Taft-Hartley trust or partnership between labor and management representatives that is formalized through a written agreement calling for joint decision making related to specific employee benefits, programs, or other efforts to benefit workers, or an organization comprised of representatives from organized labor and businesses for the betterment of that industry's workforce including the labor-management partnership as defined in chapter 74.39A RCW.
     (11) "Persons working in health care fields" means registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, health care assistants, long-term care workers, and unlicensed assistive nursing personnel providing direct patient care under RCW 18.135.020 or 18.88A.020.
     (12) "Technical assistance" means professional and any other assistance provided by business and industry to an educational institution, which is reasonably calculated to support directly the development and expansion of a particular program and which represents an addition to any technical assistance previously or customarily provided to the educational institutions by the donor.
     (((10) "College board" means the state board for community and technical colleges under chapter 28B.50 RCW.))