74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 561
 
                         House Bill 2206
 
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
  Presession filed (at the request of Governor Theodore R.
  Kulongoski for Department of Community Colleges and Workforce
  Development)
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Establishes Skill Up Oregon Fund. Continuously appropriates
moneys in fund to Department of Community Colleges and Workforce
Development.
  Establishes program to award grants to local and regional
workforce investment boards to provide workforce training to
individuals to become employed in high-demand occupations.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to Skill Up Oregon Fund; and appropriating money.
  Whereas Oregon is in a competitive race with the rest of the
world; and
  Whereas China, India and many European countries are
restructuring from industrial to information-based economies and
are investing to build the skills of their workers; and
  Whereas key trends are creating a 'quiet crisis' to which
Oregon must respond, including globalization, demographic shifts
with an aging and more diverse workforce and advancing technology
that requires high levels of skills and more capacity of our
education and workforce systems to respond so Oregon workers can
keep pace with the rest of the world; and
  Whereas Oregon has more than 250,000 adults who are no longer
in school and do not have a high school diploma; and
  Whereas approximately 26 percent of adults with low literacy
speak English as a second language and represent about four
percent of the labor force; and
  Whereas Skill Up Oregon will help Oregonians who need basic and
technical skills prepare for living wage opportunities; and
  Whereas to be competitive, Oregon must prepare all of its
citizens for tomorrow's jobs; now, therefore,
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Sections 2 and 3 of this 2007 Act are added to
and made a part of ORS 660.300 to 660.339. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) The Skill Up Oregon Fund is established
separate and distinct from the General Fund. Interest earned on
moneys in the Skill Up Oregon Fund is retained in the fund. All
moneys in the fund shall be appropriated continuously to the
Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development for
the purposes of this section and section 3 of this 2007 Act.
  (2) The department may use the moneys in the fund for
administrative costs. + }
  SECTION 3.  { + (1) The Department of Community Colleges and
Workforce Development shall award grants to local and regional
workforce investment boards based on guidelines developed by the
State Workforce Investment Board for the WorkSource Oregon system
in cooperation with local and regional workforce investment
boards.
  (2) The department shall determine the allocation of the grants
among local and regional boards based on the following local and
regional factors:
  (a) The size of the labor force;
  (b) The unemployment rate; and
  (c) The number of employers.
  (3) The State Workforce Investment Board shall identify for
each biennium a list of high-demand occupations for which an
individual may receive training using grant funds awarded under
this section. The board shall base the list on research, data and
analysis provided by the Employment Department and the Economic
and Community Development Department in reports and on
projections for both new and replacement jobs.
  (4) In determining the occupations to target within its region
with grant funds for a biennium, each local or regional board
that receives a grant shall:
  (a) Review the list of high-demand occupations created by the
State Workforce Investment Board and compare the list with
regional data and the regional investment plan;
  (b) Consider employer needs, regional investment plans and
targeted industry clusters; and
  (c) Give preference to occupations for which employers in the
region have expressed willingness to provide internships, paid
employment or other work experience.
  (5) Grant funds shall be used to address the needs of the
following categories of transitional workers:
  (a) Unemployed workers, including both individuals receiving
unemployment insurance and individuals not receiving unemployment
insurance;
  (b) Dislocated workers; and
  (c) Low-skilled workers.
  (6) The purpose of the grants is to address work readiness,
literacy and technical skills of individuals. Local and regional
boards may use the grants to:
  (a) Assess individuals for gaps in work readiness, literacy and
basic skills;
  (b) Train individuals in work readiness, literacy and basic
skills required to overcome barriers to employment;
  (c) Train individuals in technical skills that focus on
occupations identified by local and regional boards in the target
industry clusters identified in regional investment plans; and
  (d) Train individuals to provide the individuals with
industry-recognized credentials that will document the
industry-related competencies, knowledge, skills and abilities
that have application in the high-demand occupations identified
by the State Workforce Investment Board.
  (7) Local and regional boards shall provide training that
prepares individuals to qualify for skilled jobs that pay a
median or higher wage for the region in one of the high-demand
occupations.
  (8) Local and regional boards shall provide training to
individuals on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority
going to those individuals who would no longer need public
assistance after training.
  (9) A local or regional board may provide training to an
individual for up to one year. Each individual who receives
training must take one class that is an internship or is work
experience with an employer.
  (10) An individual may use training funds:
  (a) For tuition;
  (b) For books;
  (c) For fees;
  (d) To subsidize wages;
  (e) For support services; and
  (f) For additional training after the individual becomes
employed if the training will advance the individual to the next
level in the individual's career or prepare the individual for
advancement.
  (11) Individuals who receive training in anticipation of
acquiring a new job may receive training only for jobs that meet
the retention requirements established by the State Workforce
Investment Board and wage level requirements established in
subsection (7) of this section.
  (12) An individual may receive no more than $3,000 each
biennium under this section.
  (13) Local and regional boards may use grant funds for the
administrative costs of the program. The Department of Community
Colleges and Workforce Development may limit the percentage of
grant funds that may be used for administrative costs by a local
or regional board.
  (14) Local and regional boards shall report to the department
on the use of grant funds and performance measures required by
the State Workforce Investment Board. + }
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