H. B. 4131
(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Cann, Frederick, Stalnaker,
Sumner and Walters)
[Introduced
January 26, 2004
; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development
and Small Business then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18B-3D-2 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the workforce development
initiative program; updating terms; and requiring certain
reporting to the legislative oversight commission on workforce
investment for economic development.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-3D-2 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3D. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.
§18B-3D-2. Workforce development initiative program created;
program administration.
(a) For the purposes of this article "Council" means the
council for community and economic development as defined in
section two, article two, chapter five-b of this code.
(b) There is hereby created under the council, a workforce
development initiative program to administer and oversee grants to community and technical colleges to achieve the purposes of this
article in accordance with legislative intent. The primary
responsibility of the council as it relates to the workforce
development initiative program is to administer the state fund for
community and technical college and workforce development including
setting criteria for grant applications, receiving applications for
grants, making determinations on distribution of funds, and
evaluating the performance of workforce development initiatives.
(c) The council shall review and approve the expenditure of
all grant funds, including development of application criteria, the
review and selection of applicants for funding, and the annual
review and justification of applicants for grant renewal.
(1) To aid in decisionmaking, the council shall appoint an
advisory committee consisting of the vice chancellor for community
and technical colleges, the secretary of education and the arts or
a designee, the assistant state superintendent for technical and
adult education, the chair of the
joint commission for
vocational-technical-occupational education council for community
and technical college education, and the chair of the
human
resource investment council West Virginia workforce investment
council. The advisory committee shall review all applications for
workforce development initiative grants and make a report including
recommendations for distributing grant funds to the council. The
advisory committee also shall make recommendations on methods to
share among the community and technical colleges any curricula developed as a result of a workforce development initiative grant.
(2) When determining which grant proposals will be funded, the
council shall give special consideration to proposals by community
and technical colleges that involve businesses with fewer than
fifty employees.
(3) The council also shall weigh each proposal to avoid
awarding grants which will have the ultimate effect of providing
unfair advantage to employers new to the state who will be in
direct competition with established local businesses.
(d) The council may allocate a reasonable amount, not to
exceed five percent up to a maximum of
$50,000 fifty thousand
dollars of the funds available for grants on an annual basis, for
general program administration.
(e) The head of the council shall report to the legislative
oversight commission on
education accountability workforce
investment for economic development on the status of the workforce
development initiative program by the first day of December,
one
two thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine and four, and annually
thereafter by the first day of December.
(f) Moneys appropriated or otherwise available for the
workforce development initiative program shall be allocated by line
item to an appropriate account. Any moneys remaining in the fund at
the close of a fiscal year shall be carried forward for use in the
next fiscal year.
(g) Nothing in this article requires a specific level of appropriation by the Legislature.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
