BILL REQ. #:  H-3357.2 

Read first time 01/12/12.   Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.

     AN ACT Relating to strengthening Washington's workforce development system by providing greater focus and better alignment of roles and responsibilities, and transferring administration of title I-B of the workforce investment act to the workforce training and education coordinating board; amending RCW 28C.18.060 and 28C.18.150; adding a new section to chapter 50.08 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that the workforce development system may be strengthened by focusing on the key roles and responsibilities of state partners, ensuring cohesive governance and management, improving accountability and performance, and eliminating possible conflicts of interest. The legislature recognizes the core businesses of state partners, and intends to align their powers, functions, and duties with their core businesses. The legislature intends that greater focus and better alignment will strengthen the ability of state partners to: Develop a workforce with the skills most needed by top industries targeted for growth and recruitment including, but not limited to, aerospace, biotechnology, and information technology; and increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher.
     (2) The legislature intends that policy, planning, and performance shall continue to be the core business of the workforce training and education coordinating board and that the board shall continue to coordinate policy and planning for the workforce development system, evaluate results, and facilitate demonstration projects testing new ideas. The legislature further intends that the board shall assume administrative and operational responsibility for funds received under title I-B of the workforce investment act. In continuing its core business and assuming this responsibility, the legislature intends that the board shall develop relevant policy, provide title I-B funds to carry out rapid response and other statewide activities, allocate title I-B funds to local workforce development councils to designate and contract with eligible entities to serve as one-stop operators and carry out other local activities, manage grants and contracts, and measure performance and outcomes.
     (3) The legislature intends that employment services and unemployment insurance shall continue to be the core business of the employment security department. The legislature intends that the department shall continue to fill employer job openings with well-qualified job seekers, and mitigate the negative consequences of unemployment and that the department shall also continue to serve as the primary labor exchange service provider in worksource centers, and, if designated by local workforce development councils, contract to serve as one-stop operators of worksource centers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 50.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) All powers, functions, and duties of the employment security department's worksource standards and integration division pertaining to the administration of title I-B of the workforce investment act, P.L. 105-220, or its successor are transferred to the workforce training and education coordinating board. These powers, functions, and duties include, but are not limited to: Compliance, assistance, research, and grant origination; related technical assistance, education, and support; related quality assurance and compliance; and related system performance. All references to the employment security department or the commissioner of the department in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the workforce training and education coordinating board or the director of the board when referring to the powers, functions, and duties transferred under this section.
     (2)(a) All reports, documents, surveys, books, records, files, papers, or written material, including electronic records and files, in the possession of the employment security department pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred to the workforce training and education coordinating board under this section shall be delivered to the custody of the workforce training and education coordinating board. All cabinets, furniture, office equipment, motor vehicles, and other tangible property employed by the employment security department in carrying out the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be made available to the workforce training and education coordinating board. All funds, credits, or other assets held in connection with the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be assigned to the workforce training and education coordinating board.
     (b) Any appropriations made to the employment security department for carrying out the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall, on the effective date of this section, be transferred and credited to the workforce training and education coordinating board.
     (c) Whenever any question arises as to the transfer of any personnel, funds, books, documents, records, papers, files, equipment, or other tangible property used or held in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the functions and duties transferred, the director of financial management shall make a determination as to the proper allocation and certify the same to the state agencies concerned.
     (3) All employees of the employment security department engaged in performing the powers, functions, and duties transferred are transferred to the jurisdiction of the workforce training and education coordinating board. All employees classified under chapter 41.06 RCW, the state civil service law, are assigned to the workforce training and education coordinating board to perform their usual duties upon the same terms as formerly, without any loss of rights, subject to any action that may be appropriate thereafter in accordance with the laws and rules governing state civil service.
     (4) All rules and all pending business before the employment security department pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be continued and acted upon by the workforce training and education coordinating board. All existing contracts and obligations shall remain in full force and shall be performed by the workforce training and education coordinating board.
     (5) The transfer of the powers, functions, and duties and personnel of the employment security department shall not affect the validity of any act performed before the effective date of this section.
     (6) If apportionments of budgeted funds are required because of the transfers directed by this section, the director of financial management shall certify the apportionments to the agencies affected, the state auditor, and the state treasurer. Each of these shall make the appropriate transfer and adjustments in funds and appropriation accounts and equipment records in accordance with the certification.
     (7) All classified employees of the employment security department assigned to the workforce training and education coordinating board under this section whose positions are within an existing bargaining unit description at the workforce training and education coordinating board shall become a part of the existing bargaining unit at the workforce training and education coordinating board and shall be considered an appropriate inclusion or modification of the existing bargaining unit under the provisions of chapter 41.80 RCW.

Sec. 3   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) Establish as its primary mission: (a) Developing a workforce with the skills most needed by top industries targeted for growth and recruitment including, but not limited to, aerospace, biotechnology, and information technology; and (b) increasing the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher;
     (3) Implement strategies to: (a) Meet market demands for a knowledge-based economy while filling middle-income jobs with a sufficient supply of skilled workers; and (b) increase the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher;
     (4) Advocate for the state training system and for meeting the needs of employers and the workforce for workforce education and training;
     (((3))) (5) 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))) (6) 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))) (7) In consultation with the higher education coordinating board or its successor, 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))) (8) 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))) (9) 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))) (10)(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))) (11) 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))) (12) 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))) (13) 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))) (14) Provide for the development of common course description formats, common reporting requirements, and common definitions for operating agencies of the training system;
     (((13))) (15) Provide for effectiveness and efficiency reviews of the state training system;
     (((14))) (16) In cooperation with the higher education coordinating board or its successor, 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))) (17) In cooperation with the higher education coordinating board or its successor, facilitate transfer of credit policies and agreements between private training institutions and institutions of the state training system;
     (((16))) (18) 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; and develop strategies to expand cohort training in fields with critical skill shortages;
     (19) Assume the administrative lead for title I-B of the workforce investment act, P.L. 105-220, or its successor; and oversee the worksource service delivery system, including the technological and self-service infrastructures;
     (((17))) (20) 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))) (21) Establish and administer programs for marketing and outreach to businesses and potential program participants;
     (((19))) (22) 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))) (23) 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))) (24) 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))) (25) 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))) (26) 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))) (27) Participate in the planning and policy development of governor set-aside grants under P.L. 97-300, as amended;
     (((25))) (28) Administer veterans' programs, licensure of private vocational schools, the job skills program, and the Washington award for vocational excellence;
     (((26))) (29) Allocate funding from the state job training trust fund;
     (((27))) (30) 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))) (31) 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))) (32) Adopt rules as necessary to implement this chapter.
     The board may delegate to the director any of the functions of this section.

Sec. 4   RCW 28C.18.150 and 2009 c 151 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Workforce development councils shall establish as their primary missions: (a) Developing a workforce with the skills most needed by top industries targeted for growth and recruitment including, but not limited to, aerospace, biotechnology, and information technology; and (b) increasing the percentage of Washington households living in the middle-income bracket or higher.
     (2) Workforce development councils, in partnership with local elected officials, shall develop and maintain a local unified plan for the workforce development system including, but not limited to, the local plan required by P.L. 105-220, Title I. The unified plan shall include a strategic plan that assesses local employment opportunities and skill needs, the present and future workforce, the current workforce development system, information on financial resources, diversity, goals, objectives, and strategies for the local workforce development system, and a system-wide financial strategy for implementing the plan. Local workforce development councils shall submit their strategic plans to the board for review and to the governor for approval.
     (((2))) (3) The strategic plan shall clearly articulate the connection between workforce and economic development efforts in the local area including the area industry clusters and the strategic clusters the community is targeting for growth. The plan shall include, but is not limited to:
     (a) Data on current and projected employment opportunities in the local area;
     (b) Identification of workforce investment needs of existing businesses and businesses considering location in the region, with special attention to industry clusters;
     (c) Identification of educational, training, employment, and support service needs of job seekers and workers in the local area, including individuals with disabilities and other underrepresented talent sources;
     (d) Analysis of the industry demand, potential labor force supply, and educational, employment, and workforce support available to businesses and job seekers in the region; and
     (e) Collaboration with associate development organizations in regional planning efforts involving combined strategies around workforce development and economic development policies and programs. Combined planning efforts shall include, but not be limited to, assistance to industry clusters in the area.
     (((3))) (4) The board shall work with workforce development councils to develop implementation and funding strategies for purposes of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act takes effect October 1, 2012.