Chapter 43 Oregon Laws 2003

AN ACT

HB 2192

Relating to Oregon Youth Conservation Corps; amending ORS 418.657, 418.658 and 418.660.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 418.657 is amended to read:

418.657. (1) In consultation with the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps Advisory Committee and the Commissioner for Community College Services, the program director of the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps shall:

(a) Establish eligibility criteria for participants. Such criteria shall not render the program ineligible for federal funds. Participants shall be lawful permanent residents of the state.

(b) Establish criteria in order to make the required determination that enrollment in the corps was not the reason that an individual ceased attendance at a secondary school.

(c) Assume that application of the eligibility and participation criteria results in enrollment of at least 75 percent disadvantaged and at-risk youth among the total number of participants.

(2) The program director, in consultation with the Commissioner for Community College Services, may take the following actions, including but not limited to:

(a) Applying for and accepting grants or contributions of funds from any public or private source;

(b) Making agreements with any local, state or federal agency to utilize any service, material or property of any such agency, where such agreements are considered reasonable and necessary; and

(c) Purchasing or contracting for necessary private services, equipment, materials and property where such are needed to carry out the projects approved for and undertaken by the corps.

(3) The [program director] State Board of Education may adopt all necessary rules to carry out the purposes and objectives of the program and to regulate the standards of conduct and other operating guidelines for corps members and other personnel.

(4) Corps members [shall be] are exempt from:

(a) [the] State Personnel Relations Law[.]; and

(b) ORS 279.348 to 279.380.

SECTION 2. ORS 418.658 is amended to read:

418.658. (1) The program director of the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps shall establish a separate program known as the Oregon Community [Service] Stewardship Corps. In addition to the established purposes of the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, the purpose of the Oregon Community [Service] Stewardship Corps is to promote community service activities throughout the state for a broad cross section of Oregon disadvantaged and at-risk youth through programs that also include appropriate educational and job training opportunities for participants.

(2) In addition to projects submitted under ORS 418.660 (1), projects of the Oregon Community [Service] Stewardship Corps may include, but shall not be limited to:

(a) Child care services.

(b) Elderly and disabled care services.

(d) Recycling and other waste reduction services.

(3) The Oregon Community [Service] Stewardship Corps shall offer employment and educational opportunities of at least three but not more than 12 months' duration for selected participants.

(4) Under rules adopted by the [program director] State Board of Education, participants who successfully complete any 12-month program under this section shall be eligible for $1,500 in tuition vouchers that can be used at any career school or post-secondary educational institution that is qualified to receive assistance through the Oregon Student Assistance Commission.

(5) All Oregonians who are at least 13 years of age and under 25 years of age are eligible to participate in the program. To ensure that Oregon Community [Service] Stewardship Corps participants represent a broad cross section of Oregonians, special emphasis shall be given to recruiting school dropouts and other disadvantaged and at-risk youth, according to criteria established by the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps Advisory Committee.

(6) To the extent practicable, the program director shall enlist state and federal agencies, local government, nonprofit organizations and private businesses, and any combination of such entities, to act as sponsors for programs administered under this section. Selection of sponsors shall be based on criteria that include the following:

(a) The availability of other resources on a matching basis, including contributions from private sources, other federal, state and local agencies, and moneys available through the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.);

(b) The provision of related educational and job training programs to participants, including but not limited to school and college coursework, General Educational Development (GED) tests equivalency training, project-related education and professional training;

(c) Assurances that proposed projects will not displace existing employees or duplicate existing private or government programs; and

(d) Assurances that proposed projects are devoted to the enhancement of the community and are not based in maintenance activities and that these projects meet an identified need.

(7) In consultation with the advisory committee and the Commissioner for Community College Services, the program director shall make grants for programs administered under this section.

SECTION 3. ORS 418.660 is amended to read:

418.660. (1) The programs established under ORS 418.650 to 418.663 may include, but shall not be limited to, projects such as:

(a) Rangeland conservation, rehabilitation and improvement;

(b) Endangered species and other wildlife habitat conservation, rehabilitation and improvement;

(d) Historical and cultural site preservation and maintenance;

(e) Recreational area development, maintenance, improvement and beautification;

(f) Road and trail maintenance and improvement;

(g) Soil conservation work, including erosion control;

(h) Flood, drought and storm damage assistance and relief;

(i) Stream, lake, waterfront harbor and port improvement and pollution control;

(j) Fish culture and habitat maintenance and improvement;

(k) Insect, disease, rodent and other pestilence control;

(L) Improvement of abandoned railroad land and right of way;

(m) Land reclamation and improvement, including strip-mined lands, public landscape work and tree planting programs;

(n) Energy conservation projects including assistance in the performance of energy efficiency audits, weatherization and renewable resource enhancement;

(o) Emergency assistance in times of natural or other disaster; and

(p) Recycling projects.

(2) In consultation with the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps Advisory Committee and the Commissioner for Community College Services, the program director of the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps shall ensure that projects selected under ORS 418.650 to 418.663 shall be consistent with all other provisions of applicable state and federal law relating to the management, oversight and administration of affected public lands.

Approved by the Governor April 1, 2003

Filed in the office of Secretary of State April 2, 2003

Effective date January 1, 2004

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