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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) 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 |
3 | | Fund, Capital Development Fund, or General Revenue Fund or |
4 | | other funds as identified by the Department, the Department |
5 | | shall create a Clean Water Workforce Pipeline Program to |
6 | | provide grants and other financial assistance to prepare and |
7 | | support individuals for careers in water infrastructure. All |
8 | | funding provided by the Program under this Section shall be |
9 | | designed to encourage and facilitate employment in projects |
10 | | funded through State capital investment and provide |
11 | | participants a skill set to allow them to work professionally |
12 | | in fields related to water infrastructure. |
13 | | Grants and other financial assistance may be made available |
14 | | on a competitive annual basis to organizations that demonstrate |
15 | | a capacity to recruit, support, train, and place individuals in |
16 | | water infrastructure careers, including, but not limited to, |
17 | | community organizations, educational institutions, workforce |
18 | | investment boards, community action agencies, and multi-craft |
19 | | labor organizations for new efforts specifically focused on |
20 | | engaging residents of environmental justice communities, |
21 | | economically and socially disadvantaged communities, those |
22 | | returning from the criminal justice system, foster care alumni, |
23 | | and in particular women and transgender persons in these |
24 | | populations. |
25 | | Grants and other financial assistance shall be awarded on a |
26 | | competitive 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 |
16 | | place at least 300, or 25% of the number of annual jobs created |
17 | | by State financed water infrastructure projects, whichever is |
18 | | greater, of the following persons in water sector-related |
19 | | apprenticeships annually: residents of environmental justice |
20 | | communities; residents of economically and socially |
21 | | disadvantaged communities; those returning from the criminal |
22 | | justice system; foster care alumni; and, in particular, women |
23 | | and transgender persons. In awarding and administering grants |
24 | | under this Program, the Department shall strive to provide |
25 | | assistance equitably throughout the State. |
26 | | In order to encourage the employment of individuals trained |
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1 | | through the Program onto projects receiving State financial |
2 | | assistance, the Department shall coordinate with the Illinois |
3 | | Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Finance |
4 | | Authority, and other State agencies that provide financial |
5 | | support for water infrastructure projects. These agencies |
6 | | shall take steps to support attaining the training and |
7 | | placement goals set forth in this subsection, using a list of |
8 | | projects that receive State financial support. These agencies |
9 | | may propose and adopt rules to facilitate the attainment of |
10 | | this goal. |
11 | | Using funds appropriated for the purposes of this Section, |
12 | | the Department may select through a competitive bidding process |
13 | | a Program Administrator to oversee the allocation of funds and |
14 | | select organizations that receive funding. |
15 | | Recipients of grants under the Program shall report |
16 | | annually to the Department on the success of their efforts and |
17 | | their contribution to reaching the goals of the Program |
18 | | provided in this subsection. The Department shall compile this |
19 | | information and annually report to the General Assembly on the |
20 | | Program, including, but not limited to, the following |
21 | | information: |
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 |
9 | | amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department |
10 | | shall propose a draft plan to implement this Section for public |
11 | | comment. The Department shall allow a minimum of 60 days for |
12 | | public comment on the plan, including one or more public |
13 | | hearings, if requested. The Department shall finalize the plan |
14 | | within 180 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of |
15 | | the 101st General Assembly. |
16 | | The Department may propose and adopt any rules necessary |
17 | | for the implementation of the Program and to ensure compliance |
18 | | with this Section. |
19 | | (e) The Water Workforce Development Fund is created as a |
20 | | special fund in the State treasury. The Fund shall receive |
21 | | moneys appropriated for the purpose of this Section from the |
22 | | Build Illinois Bond Fund, the Capital Development Fund, the |
23 | | General Revenue Fund and any other funds. Moneys in the Fund |
24 | | shall only be used to fund the Program and to assist and enable |
25 | | implementation of clean water infrastructure capital |
26 | | investments. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the |
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1 | | Water Workforce Development Fund is not subject to sweeps, |
2 | | administrative charge-backs, or any other fiscal or budgetary |
3 | | maneuver that would in any way transfer any amounts from the |
4 | | Water Workforce Development Fund into any other fund of the |
5 | | State. |
6 | | (f) For purpose of this Section: |
7 | | "Environmental justice community" has the meaning provided |
8 | | in subsection (b) of Section 1-50 of the Illinois Power Agency |
9 | | Act. |
10 | | "Multi-craft labor organization" means a joint |
11 | | labor-management apprenticeship program registered with and |
12 | | approved by the United States Department of Labor's Office of |
13 | | Apprenticeship or a labor organization that has an accredited |
14 | | training program through the Higher Learning Commission or the |
15 | | Illinois Community College Board. |
16 | | "Organization" means a corporation, company, partnership, |
17 | | association, society, order, labor organization, or individual |
18 | | or aggregation of individuals.
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19 | | Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding |
20 | | Section 5.891 as follows: |
21 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.891 new) |
22 | | Sec. 5.891. The Water Workforce Development Fund.
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