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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic
5Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
6amended 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) Many of 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) From appropriations made from the Build Illinois Bond
3Fund, Capital Development Fund, or General Revenue Fund or
4other funds as identified by the Department, the Department
5shall create a Clean Water Workforce Pipeline Program to
6provide grants and other financial assistance to prepare and
7support individuals for careers in water infrastructure. All
8funding provided by the Program under this Section shall be
9designed to encourage and facilitate employment in projects
10funded through State capital investment and provide
11participants a skill set to allow them to work professionally
12in fields related to water infrastructure.
13    Grants and other financial assistance may be made available
14on a competitive annual basis to organizations that demonstrate
15a capacity to recruit, support, train, and place individuals in
16water infrastructure careers, including, but not limited to,
17community organizations, educational institutions, workforce
18investment boards, community action agencies, and multi-craft
19labor organizations for new efforts specifically focused on
20engaging residents of environmental justice communities,
21economically and socially disadvantaged communities, those
22returning from the criminal justice system, foster care alumni,
23and in particular women and transgender persons in these
24populations.
25    Grants and other financial assistance shall be awarded on a
26competitive and annual basis for the following activities:

 

 

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1        (1) identification of individuals for job training in
2    the water sector;
3        (2) counseling, preparation, skills training, and
4    other support to increase a candidate's likelihood of
5    success in a job training program and career;
6        (3) financial support for individuals in a water sector
7    job skills training program, support services, and
8    transportation assistance tied to training under this
9    Section;
10        (4) job placement services for individuals during and
11    after completion of water sector job skills training
12    programs; and
13        (5) financial, administrative, and management
14    assistance for organizations engaged in these activities.
15    (c) It shall be an annual goal of the Program to train and
16place at least 300, or 25% of the number of annual jobs created
17by State financed water infrastructure projects, whichever is
18greater, of the following persons in water sector-related
19apprenticeships annually: residents of environmental justice
20communities; residents of economically and socially
21disadvantaged communities; those returning from the criminal
22justice system; foster care alumni; and, in particular, women
23and transgender persons. In awarding and administering grants
24under this Program, the Department shall strive to provide
25assistance equitably throughout the State.
26    In order to encourage the employment of individuals trained

 

 

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1through the Program onto projects receiving State financial
2assistance, the Department shall coordinate with the Illinois
3Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Finance
4Authority, and other State agencies that provide financial
5support for water infrastructure projects. These agencies
6shall take steps to support attaining the training and
7placement goals set forth in this subsection, using a list of
8projects that receive State financial support. These agencies
9may propose and adopt rules to facilitate the attainment of
10this goal.
11    Using funds appropriated for the purposes of this Section,
12the Department may select through a competitive bidding process
13a Program Administrator to oversee the allocation of funds and
14select organizations that receive funding.
15    Recipients of grants under the Program shall report
16annually to the Department on the success of their efforts and
17their contribution to reaching the goals of the Program
18provided in this subsection. The Department shall compile this
19information and annually report to the General Assembly on the
20Program, including, but not limited to, the following
21information:
22        (1) progress toward the goals stated in this
23    subsection;
24        (2) any increase in the percentage of water industry
25    jobs in targeted populations;
26        (3) any increase in the rate of acceptance, completion,

 

 

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1    or retention of water training programs among targeted
2    populations;
3        (4) any increase in the rate of employment, including
4    hours and annual income, measured against pre-Program
5    participant income; and
6        (5) any recommendations for future changes to optimize
7    the success of the Program.
8    (d) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
9amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department
10shall propose a draft plan to implement this Section for public
11comment. The Department shall allow a minimum of 60 days for
12public comment on the plan, including one or more public
13hearings, if requested. The Department shall finalize the plan
14within 180 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
15the 101st General Assembly.
16    The Department may propose and adopt any rules necessary
17for the implementation of the Program and to ensure compliance
18with this Section.
19    (e) The Water Workforce Development Fund is created as a
20special fund in the State treasury. The Fund shall receive
21moneys appropriated for the purpose of this Section from the
22Build Illinois Bond Fund, the Capital Development Fund, the
23General Revenue Fund and any other funds. Moneys in the Fund
24shall only be used to fund the Program and to assist and enable
25implementation of clean water infrastructure capital
26investments. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the

 

 

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1Water Workforce Development Fund is not subject to sweeps,
2administrative charge-backs, or any other fiscal or budgetary
3maneuver that would in any way transfer any amounts from the
4Water Workforce Development Fund into any other fund of the
5State.
6    (f) For purpose of this Section:
7    "Environmental justice community" has the meaning provided
8in subsection (b) of Section 1-50 of the Illinois Power Agency
9Act.
10    "Multi-craft labor organization" means a joint
11labor-management apprenticeship program registered with and
12approved by the United States Department of Labor's Office of
13Apprenticeship or a labor organization that has an accredited
14training program through the Higher Learning Commission or the
15Illinois Community College Board.
16    "Organization" means a corporation, company, partnership,
17association, society, order, labor organization, or individual
18or aggregation of individuals.
 
19    Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
20Section 5.891 as follows:
 
21    (30 ILCS 105/5.891 new)
22    Sec. 5.891. The Water Workforce Development Fund.