96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB4186

 

Introduced 2/27/2009, by Rep. William Davis

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.719 new

    Creates the Green Jobs Training Fund Act. Creates the Green Jobs Training Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury. Provides that the purpose of the Fund shall be to support the development and implementation of worker skills training and education programs in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Authorizes the Director of Labor to use money from the Fund to establish 2 competitive grant programs: (i) an Energy Training Partnership Grant program, which would authorize the Director to award grants to eligible entities in order to produce economically self-sufficient program participants and a skilled workforce for eligible industries and (ii) a Pathways out of Poverty Grant program, which would authorize the Director to award grants to eligible entities that meet certain requirements. Limits grants made under either of these programs to $500,000 total over no more than 2 years. Requires the Department of Labor to report certain information to the General Assembly and Governor each year.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning job training.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Green
5 Jobs Training Fund Act.
 
6     Section 5. Green Jobs Training Fund.
7     (a) The Green Jobs Training Fund is hereby created as a
8 special fund in the State Treasury. The Fund shall be
9 administered by the Department of Labor, in consultation with
10 the Environmental Protection Agency. There shall be credited to
11 the Fund any monies specifically designated for deposit into
12 the Fund, including gifts, grants, and private contributions.
13 Earnings attributable to moneys in the Fund shall be deposited
14 into the Fund.
15     The Fund shall be used by the Department for the following
16 purposes:
17         (1) supporting, in conjunction with other private,
18     public, and philanthropic resources, the development and
19     implementation of worker skills training and education
20     programs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy
21     industries;
22         (2) collecting and analyzing labor market data to track
23     workforce trends resulting from energy related

 

 

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1     initiatives; and
2         (3) providing grants as well as partnership planning
3     and programs to eligible entities in order to provide an
4     integrated continuum of workforce education and training.
 
5     Section 10. Eligible entities.
6     (a) Eligible entities shall include:
7         (1) community-based, nonprofit organizations;
8         (2) educational institutions with expertise in serving
9     low-income adults or youth;
10         (3) public or private employers in eligible
11     industries; and
12         (4) labor organizations representing workers in
13     eligible industries.
14     (b) Eligible entities shall:
15         (1) demonstrate experience in implementing and
16     operating worker skills training and education programs;
17         (2) coordinate activities, where appropriate, with the
18     workforce investment system;
19         (3) demonstrate the ability to recruit individuals for
20     training; and
21         (4) support recruited individuals' successful
22     completion of training programs funded under this Act.
 
23     Section 15. Eligible participants. Eligible participants
24 shall include:

 

 

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1         (1) workers affected by State energy and environmental
2     policy;
3         (2) unemployed workers;
4         (3) individuals, including at-risk youth, seeking
5     employment pathways out of poverty and into economic
6     self-sufficiency; and
7         (4) formerly incarcerated, adjudicated nonviolent
8     offenders.
 
9     Section 20. Eligible industries. Energy efficiency and
10 renewable energy industries eligible to participate in a
11 program under this Act include, but are not limited to, the
12 following:
13         (1) the energy efficient building construction and
14     retrofit industries;
15         (2) the renewable electric power generation and
16     transmission industry;
17         (3) the energy efficient and advanced vehicle drive
18     train industry;
19         (4) the biofuels industry;
20         (5) the deconstruction and materials use industries;
21         (6) the energy efficiency assessment industry; and
22         (7) the manufacturers that produce sustainable
23     products using environmentally sustainable processes and
24     materials.
25     Any green industry not listed in this Section may petition

 

 

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1 the Department of Labor for inclusion on the Department of
2 Labor's list of eligible industries.
 
3     Section 25. Green Jobs Training Program Advisory
4 Committee. The Director of Labor shall appoint an advisory
5 committee to represent significant constituencies.
 
6     Section 30. Audit. The Auditor General or his or her
7 designee shall audit the programs each year, using generally
8 accepted accounting principles.
 
9     Section 35. Research program. The Director of Labor shall
10 collect and analyze labor market data to track workforce trends
11 resulting from energy-related initiatives carried out under
12 this Act. The Department of Labor shall report its findings to
13 the General Assembly and Governor by July 1 each year. The
14 Department of Labor's report shall:
15         (1) track and document participants' academic and
16     occupational competencies as well as whether their skill
17     sets match the needs of eligible industries;
18         (2) track and document occupational information and
19     workforce training data that is relevant to the grant
20     programs administered under this Act;
21         (3) describe the Department of Labor's efforts to
22     collaborate with outside agencies, workforce investment
23     boards, industry, organized labor, and community and

 

 

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1     nonprofit organizations to disseminate information on
2     successful innovations for labor market services and
3     worker training in eligible industries;
4         (4) describe the Department of Labor's efforts to link
5     research and development in renewable energy and energy
6     efficiency technology with the development of standards
7     and curricula for current and future jobs in eligible
8     industries;
9         (5) assess new employment and workforce development
10     practices, including career ladder and upgrade training as
11     well as high performance work systems, in eligible
12     industries; and
13         (6) describe the Department of Labor's efforts to
14     provide technical assistance and capacity building to
15     national and State energy partnerships.
 
16     Section 40. Energy Training Partnership Grants. The
17 Director of Labor shall, on a competitive basis, award Energy
18 Training Partnership Grants from the Green Jobs Training Fund
19 to eligible entities (i) to enable those entities to carry out
20 training that leads to economic self sufficiency for eligible
21 participants and (ii) to develop a skilled workforce for
22 eligible industries. Grants shall be awarded under this Section
23 to ensure some measure of geographic equality. Priority shall
24 be given to eligible entities that leverage additional public
25 and private resources to fund training programs, including cash

 

 

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1 or in-kind matches from participating employers in eligible
2 industries.
 
3     Section 45. Pathways out of Poverty Grants. The Director
4 of Labor shall award competitive grants from the Green Jobs
5 Training Fund to eligible entities to enable those entities to
6 carry out training that leads to economic self-sufficiency for
7 eligible participants. The Director of Labor shall give
8 priority to eligible entities that (i) serve individuals in
9 families with a gross income of less than 200 percent of the
10 federal poverty limit as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau;
11 (ii) leverage additional public and private resources to fund
12 training programs, including cash or in-kind matches from
13 participating employers; (iii) involve employers and labor
14 organizations in the determination of relevant skills and
15 competencies and ensure that the certificates or credentials
16 that result from the training are employer-recognized; (iv)
17 deliver courses at alternative times and locations most
18 convenient and accessible to participants; and (v) link adult
19 remedial education with occupational skills training. Grants
20 shall be awarded under this Section so as to ensure some degree
21 of geographic equity in their distribution.
 
22     Section 50. Grant limitations. Grant moneys awarded under
23 this Act must be expended by the grant recipient within 2 years
24 after being received by the grant recipient. The Director may

 

 

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1 not award an eligible entity more than $500,000 in grant
2 funding under this Act.
 
3     Section 55. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
4 Section 5.719 as follows:
 
5     (30 ILCS 105/5.719 new)
6     Sec. 5.719. The Green Jobs Training Fund.