Senate Bill No. 218
(By Senators Unger, Kessler, McCabe Sprouse, Hunter and Foster)
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[Introduced February 18, 2005; referred to the Committee on
Economic Development; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18B-3D-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the workforce development
initiative generally; and providing that public sector
employers may participate in the initiative under certain
circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-3D-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3D. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.
§18B-3D-4. Grant application procedures.
(a) In order to participate in the workforce development
initiative grant program, a community and technical college must
meet the following conditions:
(1) Participate in a community and technical college consortia
as required by article three-c of this chapter. Consortia representatives shall participate in the development of and approve
applications for funding grants under the provisions of this
article and shall approve the workforce development initiative
budget;
(2) Develop a plan to achieve measurable improvements in the
quality of the workforce within its service area over a five-year
period. The plan must be developed in partnership with employers,
local vocational schools and other workforce education providers;
(3) Establish a special revolving fund under the jurisdiction
of the community and technical college consortia
dedicated solely
to workforce development initiatives for the purposes provided in
this article. Any fees or revenues generated from workforce
development initiatives funded by a competitive grant shall be
deposited into this fund.
(b) To be eligible to receive a workforce development
initiative grant, a community and technical college must provide at
least the following information in its application:
(1) Identification of the specific business or business sector
training needs that will be met if a workforce development
initiative grant is received;
(2) A commitment from the private or public sector partner or
partners to provide a match of one dollar, cash and in-kind, for
each dollar of state grant money received except in cases where the
community and technical college can demonstrate in the grant application that it would be a hardship for the business private
sector partner or partners being served to provide such a match.
In those cases only, the commitment to provide a match required may
be reduced to one private dollar provided by the private sector
partner or partners, cash and in-kind, for every three dollars of
state grant money provided. In the case of awards for the
modernization of procurement of equipment, the development office
may establish a separate match requirement of up to one dollar,
cash and in-kind, for each dollar of state grant money received.
Beginning in fiscal year 2006, the commitment required by this
subdivision may be provided by a public sector partner using state
or federal dollars to provide the required match: Provided, That
no public sector partner using state or federal dollars to provide
the required match is eligible for a grant under the provisions of
this section unless the amount of funding provided by the
Legislature for the workforce development initiative in that fiscal
year exceeds six hundred fifty thousand dollars: Provided,
however, That if the amount of funding provided by the Legislature
for the workforce investment initiative in a fiscal year exceeds
six hundred fifty thousand dollars, only one half of that amount
exceeding six hundred fifty thousand dollars may be granted to a
qualified applicant whose commitment of the required match is from
a public sector partner using state or federal dollars to provide
the match
;
(3) An agreement to share with other community and technical
colleges any curricula developed using funds from a workforce
development initiative grant;
(4) A specific plan showing how the community and technical
college will collaborate with local post-secondary vocational
institutions to maximize the use of existing facilities, personnel
and equipment;
(5) An acknowledgment that acceptance of a grant under the
provisions of this article commits the community and technical
college and its consortia committee to such terms, conditions and
deliverables as is specified by the development office in the
request for applications, including, but not limited to, the
measures by which the performance of the workforce development
initiative will be evaluated.
(c) Applications submitted by community and technical colleges
may be awarded funds for programs which meet the requirements of
this article that are operated on a collaborative basis at
facilities under the jurisdiction of the public schools and
utilized by both secondary and post-secondary students.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow public sector
moneys to be used to satisfy the matching requirements of the
workforce initiative in certain circumstances.
This is an interim bill that was proposed for introduction in
the 2005 Legislative Session by the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Workforce Investment for Economic Development.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.