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1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Opportunity Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | amended by adding Section 913 as follows: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | (20 ILCS 605/913 new) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Sec. 913. Clean Water Workforce Pipeline Program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | (a) The General Assembly finds the following: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | (1) The fresh surface water and groundwater supply in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | Illinois and Lake Michigan constitute vital natural | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | resources that require careful stewardship and protection | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | for future generations. Access to safe and clean drinking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | water is the right of all Illinois residents. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | (2) To adequately protect these resources and provide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | safe and clean drinking water, substantial investment is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | needed to replace lead components in drinking water | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | infrastructure, improve wastewater treatment, flood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | control, and stormwater management, control aquatic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | invasive species, implement green infrastructure | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | solutions, and implement other infrastructure solutions to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | protect water quality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | (3) Implementing these clean water solutions will |
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1 | require a skilled and trained workforce, and new | ||||||
2 | investments will demand additional workers with | ||||||
3 | specialized skills. | ||||||
4 | (4) Water infrastructure jobs have been shown to | ||||||
5 | provide living wages and contribute to Illinois' economy. | ||||||
6 | (5) Significant populations of Illinois residents, | ||||||
7 | including, but not limited to, residents of environmental | ||||||
8 | justice communities, economically and socially | ||||||
9 | disadvantaged communities, those returning from the | ||||||
10 | criminal justice system, foster care alumni, and in | ||||||
11 | particular women and transgender persons, are in need of | ||||||
12 | access to skilled living wage jobs like those in the water | ||||||
13 | infrastructure sector. | ||||||
14 | (6) These residents are more likely to live in | ||||||
15 | communities with aging and inadequate clean water | ||||||
16 | infrastructure and suffer from threats to surface and | ||||||
17 | drinking water quality. | ||||||
18 | (7) The State can provide significant economic | ||||||
19 | opportunities to these residents and achieve greater | ||||||
20 | environmental and public health by investing in clean water | ||||||
21 | infrastructure. | ||||||
22 | (8) New training, recruitment, support, and placement | ||||||
23 | efforts are needed to connect these residents with career | ||||||
24 | opportunities in water infrastructure. | ||||||
25 | (9) The State must invest in both clean water | ||||||
26 | infrastructure and workforce development efforts in order |
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1 | to achieve these goals. | ||||||
2 | (b) The Department shall create a Clean Water Workforce | ||||||
3 | Pipeline Program to provide grants and other financial | ||||||
4 | assistance to prepare and support individuals for careers in | ||||||
5 | water infrastructure. All funding provided by the Program under | ||||||
6 | this Section shall be designed to encourage and facilitate | ||||||
7 | employment in projects funded through State capital investment | ||||||
8 | and provide participants a skill set which is sufficiently | ||||||
9 | broad enough to allow them to work professionally in fields | ||||||
10 | related to water infrastructure. Such projects may include | ||||||
11 | training in construction, plumbing, or other relevant fields. | ||||||
12 | Grants and other financial assistance may be made available | ||||||
13 | on a competitive annual basis to organizations that demonstrate | ||||||
14 | a capacity to recruit, support, train, and place individuals in | ||||||
15 | water infrastructure careers, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
16 | community organizations, educational institutions, workforce | ||||||
17 | investment boards, community action agencies, and labor unions | ||||||
18 | for new efforts specifically focused on engaging residents of | ||||||
19 | environmental justice communities, economically and socially | ||||||
20 | disadvantaged communities, those returning from the criminal | ||||||
21 | justice system, foster care alumni, and in particular women and | ||||||
22 | transgender persons in these populations. | ||||||
23 | Grants and other financial assistance shall be awarded on a | ||||||
24 | competitive and annual basis for the following activities: | ||||||
25 | (1) identification of individuals for job training in | ||||||
26 | the water sector; |
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1 | (2) counseling, preparation, skills training, and | ||||||
2 | other support to increase a candidate's likelihood of | ||||||
3 | success in a job training program and career; | ||||||
4 | (3) continuing education for individuals to prepare | ||||||
5 | for and build on workforce training; | ||||||
6 | (4) financial support for individuals in a water sector | ||||||
7 | job skills training program, including stipends and | ||||||
8 | assistance with transportation, child care, uniforms, | ||||||
9 | tools, and other costs; | ||||||
10 | (5) training of individuals in various skills and | ||||||
11 | trades necessary to build and maintain clean water | ||||||
12 | infrastructure; | ||||||
13 | (6) job placement services for individuals during and | ||||||
14 | after completion of water sector job skills training | ||||||
15 | programs; and | ||||||
16 | (7) financial, administrative, and management | ||||||
17 | assistance for organizations engaged in these activities. | ||||||
18 | It shall be an annual goal of the Program to train and | ||||||
19 | place 2,500 residents of environmental justice communities, | ||||||
20 | economically and socially disadvantaged communities, those | ||||||
21 | returning from the criminal justice system, foster care alumni, | ||||||
22 | and in particular women and transgender persons, in water | ||||||
23 | sector jobs annually. | ||||||
24 | In order to encourage the employment of individuals trained | ||||||
25 | through the Program onto projects receiving State financial | ||||||
26 | assistance, the Department shall coordinate with the Illinois |
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1 | Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Finance | ||||||
2 | Authority, and other State agencies that provide financial | ||||||
3 | support for water infrastructure projects. | ||||||
4 | The Department may select through a competitive bidding | ||||||
5 | process a Program Administrator to oversee the allocation of | ||||||
6 | funds and select organizations that receive funding. | ||||||
7 | Recipients of grants or other financial assistance under | ||||||
8 | the Program shall report annually to the Department on the | ||||||
9 | success of their efforts and their contribution to reaching the | ||||||
10 | goals of the Program provided in this subsection. The | ||||||
11 | Department shall compile this information and annually report | ||||||
12 | to the General Assembly on the Program, including, but not | ||||||
13 | limited to, the following information: | ||||||
14 | (1) progress toward the goals stated in this | ||||||
15 | subsection; | ||||||
16 | (2) any increase in the percentage of water industry | ||||||
17 | jobs in targeted populations; | ||||||
18 | (3) any increase in the rate of acceptance, completion, | ||||||
19 | or retention of water training programs among targeted | ||||||
20 | populations; | ||||||
21 | (4) any increase in the rate of employment, including | ||||||
22 | hours and annual income, measured against pre-Program | ||||||
23 | participant income; and | ||||||
24 | (5) any recommendations for future changes to optimize | ||||||
25 | the success of the Program. | ||||||
26 | (c) Within 90 days after the effective date of this |
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1 | amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department | ||||||
2 | shall propose a draft plan to implement this Section for public | ||||||
3 | comment. The Department shall allow a minimum of 60 days for | ||||||
4 | public comment on the plan, including one or more public | ||||||
5 | hearings, if requested. The Department shall finalize the plan | ||||||
6 | within 180 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
7 | the 101st General Assembly. | ||||||
8 | The Department may propose and adopt any rules necessary | ||||||
9 | for the implementation of the Program and to ensure compliance | ||||||
10 | with this Section. | ||||||
11 | (d) The Water Workforce Development Fund is created as a | ||||||
12 | special fund in the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall | ||||||
13 | only be used to fund the Program and to assist and enable | ||||||
14 | implementation of clean water infrastructure capital | ||||||
15 | investments. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the | ||||||
16 | Water Workforce Development Fund is not subject to sweeps, | ||||||
17 | administrative charge-backs, or any other fiscal or budgetary | ||||||
18 | maneuver that would in any way transfer any amounts from the | ||||||
19 | Water Workforce Development Fund into any other fund of the | ||||||
20 | State.
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21 | Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
22 | Section 5.891 as follows: | ||||||
23 | (30 ILCS 105/5.891 new) | ||||||
24 | Sec. 5.891. The Water Workforce Development Fund.
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