LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The following proposed bills have a potential impact on, or may be of special interest to the ETP program. Brief summaries are provided below.
ETP staff will update this page periodically. However, for the most recent versions, or to track the status of these bills, please visit the Official California Legislative Information website.
AB 1224 (Committee on Veterans Affairs) Employment Training Panel: 3-Year Plan: Training Programs: Veterans: National Guard Members
As amended April 9, this bill would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to adopt regulations to implement the Veterans' Farm and Home Act for cooperative dwelling units in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would also revise provisions relating to forfeiture and the calculation of net gain in connection with the sale of cooperative dwelling units, and contains other related provisions and other existing laws. Simultaneously, this bill would require the Employment Training Panel's 3-year plan, which existing law requires to be updated annually and submitted to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1 of each year, to include a statement describing the employment training goals, objectives, and strategies that may be implemented to support target populations in need of employment training, specifically including military veterans and members of the National Guard.
SB 1401 (Lieu) Unemployment Insurance: Education and Workforce Investment Systems
Existing law provides that the California Workforce Investment Board is responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system. This bill would provide that the board is also responsible for assisting the Governor in the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century workforce and the promotion and development of a well-educated and highly skilled 21st century workforce. This bill would require the board to assist the Governor in targeting resources to specified high-wage industry clusters and leverage state and federal funds to ensure that resources are invested in activities that meet the needs of specified industry sectors. this bill specifies that workforce investment programs and services collaborate with other public institutions, including K-12 career technical education and adult basic education programs, community college career technical education and basic skills programs, the Economic and Workforce Development program of the Chancellor's office, and the Employment Training Panel, to better align resources across workforce education and training service delivery systems and build a well-articulated workforce investment system.
SB 1402(Lieu) Economic Development: California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program
Existing law, until January 1, 2013, establishes the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program and requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as part of the program, to assist economic and workforce regional development centers and consortia to improve linkages and career-technical education pathways between high schools and community colleges, in a manner that, among other things, improves the quality of career exploration and career outreach materials. Existing law also requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop an implementation strategy for achieving this goal. This bill would generally recast and revise the provisions governing the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program that is to be repealed on January 1, 2013, excluding the provisions relating to the economic and workforce regional development centers and consortia, and would establish a revised program that would operate until January 1, 2018. Part of the mission of the economic and workforce development program includes collaboration and coordination with other state, regional, or local agencies involved in education and workforce training in California, including, but not necessarily limited to, the California Workforce Investment Board, the Employment Training Panel, the State Department of Education, and the Employment Development Department.