HB4186 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 10926 JDS 21178 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB4186

Introduced 2/27/2009, by Rep. William Davis

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.719 new

Creates the Green Jobs Training Fund Act. Creates the Green Jobs Training Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury. Provides that the purpose of the Fund shall be to support the development and implementation of worker skills training and education programs in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Authorizes the Director of Labor to use money from the Fund to establish 2 competitive grant programs: (i) an Energy Training Partnership Grant program, which would authorize the Director to award grants to eligible entities in order to produce economically self-sufficient program participants and a skilled workforce for eligible industries and (ii) a Pathways out of Poverty Grant program, which would authorize the Director to award grants to eligible entities that meet certain requirements. Limits grants made under either of these programs to $500,000 total over no more than 2 years. Requires the Department of Labor to report certain information to the General Assembly and Governor each year.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning job training.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Green Jobs Training Fund Act.

Section 5. Green Jobs Training Fund.

(a) The Green Jobs Training Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The Fund shall be administered by the Department of Labor, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency. There shall be credited to the Fund any monies specifically designated for deposit into the Fund, including gifts, grants, and private contributions. Earnings attributable to moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.

The Fund shall be used by the Department for the following purposes:

(1) supporting, in conjunction with other private, public, and philanthropic resources, the development and implementation of worker skills training and education programs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries;

(2) collecting and analyzing labor market data to track workforce trends resulting from energy related initiatives; and

(3) providing grants as well as partnership planning and programs to eligible entities in order to provide an integrated continuum of workforce education and training.

Section 10. Eligible entities.

(a) Eligible entities shall include:

(1) community-based, nonprofit organizations;

(2) educational institutions with expertise in serving low-income adults or youth;

(3) public or private employers in eligible industries; and

(4) labor organizations representing workers in eligible industries.

(b) Eligible entities shall:

(1) demonstrate experience in implementing and operating worker skills training and education programs;

(2) coordinate activities, where appropriate, with the workforce investment system;

(3) demonstrate the ability to recruit individuals for training; and

(4) support recruited individuals' successful completion of training programs funded under this Act.

Section 15. Eligible participants. Eligible participants shall include:

(1) workers affected by State energy and environmental policy;

(2) unemployed workers;

(3) individuals, including at-risk youth, seeking employment pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency; and

(4) formerly incarcerated, adjudicated nonviolent offenders.

Section 20. Eligible industries. Energy efficiency and renewable energy industries eligible to participate in a program under this Act include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) the energy efficient building construction and retrofit industries;

(2) the renewable electric power generation and transmission industry;

(3) the energy efficient and advanced vehicle drive train industry;

(4) the biofuels industry;

(5) the deconstruction and materials use industries;

(6) the energy efficiency assessment industry; and

(7) the manufacturers that produce sustainable products using environmentally sustainable processes and materials.

Any green industry not listed in this Section may petition the Department of Labor for inclusion on the Department of Labor's list of eligible industries.

Section 25. Green Jobs Training Program Advisory Committee. The Director of Labor shall appoint an advisory committee to represent significant constituencies.

Section 30. Audit. The Auditor General or his or her designee shall audit the programs each year, using generally accepted accounting principles.

Section 35. Research program. The Director of Labor shall collect and analyze labor market data to track workforce trends resulting from energy-related initiatives carried out under this Act. The Department of Labor shall report its findings to the General Assembly and Governor by July 1 each year. The Department of Labor's report shall:

(1) track and document participants' academic and occupational competencies as well as whether their skill sets match the needs of eligible industries;

(2) track and document occupational information and workforce training data that is relevant to the grant programs administered under this Act;

(3) describe the Department of Labor's efforts to collaborate with outside agencies, workforce investment boards, industry, organized labor, and community and nonprofit organizations to disseminate information on successful innovations for labor market services and worker training in eligible industries;

(4) describe the Department of Labor's efforts to link research and development in renewable energy and energy efficiency technology with the development of standards and curricula for current and future jobs in eligible industries;

(5) assess new employment and workforce development practices, including career ladder and upgrade training as well as high performance work systems, in eligible industries; and

(6) describe the Department of Labor's efforts to provide technical assistance and capacity building to national and State energy partnerships.

Section 40. Energy Training Partnership Grants. The Director of Labor shall, on a competitive basis, award Energy Training Partnership Grants from the Green Jobs Training Fund to eligible entities (i) to enable those entities to carry out training that leads to economic self sufficiency for eligible participants and (ii) to develop a skilled workforce for eligible industries. Grants shall be awarded under this Section to ensure some measure of geographic equality. Priority shall be given to eligible entities that leverage additional public and private resources to fund training programs, including cash or in-kind matches from participating employers in eligible industries.

Section 45. Pathways out of Poverty Grants. The Director of Labor shall award competitive grants from the Green Jobs Training Fund to eligible entities to enable those entities to carry out training that leads to economic self-sufficiency for eligible participants. The Director of Labor shall give priority to eligible entities that (i) serve individuals in families with a gross income of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau; (ii) leverage additional public and private resources to fund training programs, including cash or in-kind matches from participating employers; (iii) involve employers and labor organizations in the determination of relevant skills and competencies and ensure that the certificates or credentials that result from the training are employer-recognized; (iv) deliver courses at alternative times and locations most convenient and accessible to participants; and (v) link adult remedial education with occupational skills training. Grants shall be awarded under this Section so as to ensure some degree of geographic equity in their distribution.

Section 50. Grant limitations. Grant moneys awarded under this Act must be expended by the grant recipient within 2 years after being received by the grant recipient. The Director may not award an eligible entity more than $500,000 in grant funding under this Act.

Section 55. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.719 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.719 new)

Sec. 5.719. The Green Jobs Training Fund.