SB0851 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 09289 RXD 39527 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
SB0851

Introduced 2/18/2005, by Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Opportunity in State Public Construction Act. Provides that funding shall be made available for certain programs to prepare individual women and minorities for entry into apprenticeships in the skilled construction trades based on labor market information and projections. Provides the eligible recipients of the funds and the eligible participants in the programs established under the Act. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall annually collect certain information from each program funded under the Act. Creates the Commission on Opportunity in State Public Construction. Establishes the duties of the Commission. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall award, through a competitive grant process, 3 year initial grants to eligible entities for services to be provided under the Act. Provides that from each State funded construction project with a budget over $1 million, one-half of 1% of the project budget shall be reserved to sustain skilled training, outreach, data collection, worksite monitoring, and the provision of technical assistance to help meet goals for inclusion of women and minorities.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Opportunity in State Public Construction Act.

Section 5. Legislative purpose. The purposes of this Act are to:

(1) Prepare Illinois women and minorities to fully participate in the construction industry where women and minorities are underrepresented.

(2) Respond to the Illinois construction workforce shortage which increasingly requires high skilled workers.

(3) Provide the Illinois construction industry with a well prepared and diverse workforce to replace retiring workers.

(4) Enhance the viability and competitiveness of local communities through an economic development strategy that will employ qualified residents for jobs that offer self sufficient wages.

(5) Increase economic opportunities in low-income communities in Illinois resulting in jobs for members of those communities.

(6) Provide support to stakeholders including, community job training programs, labor, employers, community colleges, public agencies and others to increase opportunities for women and minorities to be fully represented in the skilled workforce in Illinois.

(7) Develop and sustain local community partnerships among stakeholders resulting in increased capacity to prepare women and minorities in low-income communities across Illinois to enter and succeed in the construction industry workforce.

(8) Develop and widely disseminate best practices to stakeholders.

(9) Assess progress and trends in construction industry training and employment of the target populations.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Community-based organizations and institutions" includes community based training providers and faith based organizations.

"Support services" includes application fees, childcare, union dues, and transportation.

Section 15. Programs to prepare women and minorities for increased participation in the construction trades in Illinois. Funding shall be made available to prepare individual women and minorities for entry into apprenticeships in the skilled construction trades based on labor market information and projections. Funding shall be made available for:

(1) Direct services to clients and participants which shall include, but not be limited to, outreach, recruitment and public education; career exploration and assessment; skill development, which shall include, but not be limited to, math remediation, physical fitness, hands-on skills, tool identification, spatial and mechanical aptitude, apprenticeship interviewing and test taking, blueprint reading, career exploration, job readiness, and employment counseling; case management; job referrals; provision of tools and other materials to training programs and their clients, and support services to assist clients during pre-vocational preparation, job training, and through the first 12 months of employment.

(2) Capacity building for funded programs to organizations that are experienced with the industry and have demonstrated success in increasing access, participation, success and retention of women and minorities in high-wage, high-skill jobs in the construction trades to increase the capacity of programs to provide training services. Allowable activities shall include materials and resource development, including handbooks, directories, resource guides and other instructional aids, data collection, and organizational development including staff training, curriculum development, and technology upgrades.

(3) Technical assistance for workforce development and vocational education systems to organizations that are experienced with the industry and have demonstrated success in increasing access, participation, success and retention of women and minorities in high-wage, high-skill jobs in the construction trades for technical assistance services to increase the capacity of programs and institutional stakeholders. Allowable activities shall include training staff, including staff of one-stop career centers, high school counselors, superintendents, and gender equity coordinators; development of public education and marketing materials; strategic planning and goal setting; development of institutional and cross-agency protocols and policies including memoranda of understanding; participation in task force or advisory meetings; and monitoring the utilization and impact of policies and activities.

(4) Technical assistance to organizations that are experienced with the industry and have demonstrated success in increasing access, participation, success and retention of women and minorities in high-wage, high-skill jobs in the construction trades for technical assistance services to train industry partners in supporting, retaining, and advancing women and minorities in the construction trades industry. Allowable activities shall include, training staff, including union stewards, business agents, training coordinators, development of outreach and marketing materials for targeted population, strategic planning and goal setting, and monitoring the utilization and impact of policies and activities.

Section 20. Eligible recipients of funds; eligible participants.

(a) Eligible recipients of funds under this Act shall include:

(1) Community-based organizations and institutions with demonstrated expertise in serving the target populations, knowledge of the construction industry, and demonstrated success in placing clients in employment.

(2) Organizations offering employment services for targeted populations with expertise in preparing skilled workers for the construction field.

(3) Labor organizations including subunits devoted to the concerns of the target populations.

(4) Individual employers and employer associations.

(5) Joint labor and management sponsored apprenticeship programs.

(6) Educational institutions.

(b) Eligible participants in programs funded under this Act shall include women, minorities, and residents of low-income communities that lack resources and have critical skills shortages in the construction industry.

Section 25. Data collection and reporting.

(a) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall collect annually from each program funded under this Act the following information: the number of individuals that participate in training programs funded by this Act over a 12 month period including, participants that enrolled for program services, participants that completed program services, participants that are accepted into apprenticeship programs, participants that entered apprenticeships or other employment training programs, participants that entered employment in a chosen field upon completion of apprenticeship selection process and preliminary training, measuring participant employment skills through pre and post program assessment, and participants that entered an industry other than construction.

(b) The Department of Labor shall collect data on the labor force in the construction sector to track the participation of women and minorities in the sector, and shall examine the status of women and minorities in relation to the remaining workforce. Data collected shall include gender, race, age, cross-tabulation of gender, race, and age, occupation by trade, geography, advancement, income, pay equity, and assignment disparity measured through income and hours worked.

The Department of Labor shall collect this information on an annual basis and submit it to the Governor, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Department of Employment Security, the State Board of Education, the Department of Transportation, the Commission on Opportunity in State Public Construction, the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Statewide Nontraditional Leadership Team, and the public by posting this information on the Department of Labor's web site and through an annual publication entitled, "Progress of Women and Minorities in the Illinois Workforce".

Section 30. Commission on Opportunity in State Public Construction.

(a) There is created the Commission on Opportunity in State Public Construction, which shall consist of 17 members as follows: (i) 10 members appointed by the Governor, 2 of whom are representatives of a labor organization engaged in the building trades, 2 of whom are representatives of organizations that represent the interests of construction companies, one of whom is a representative of an organization that represents the interests of minority-owned business enterprises, one of whom is a representative of an organization that represents female-owned business enterprises, one of whom is a representative of an organization that advocates for the civil rights of women, one of whom is a representative of an organization that advocates for the civil rights of African Americans, one of whom is a representative of an organization that advocates for the civil rights of Hispanic Americans, and one of whom is a representative of an organization that advocates for the civil rights of Asian Pacific and South Asian Americans; (ii) one member appointed by the President of the Senate; (iii) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; (iv) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; (v) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; (vi) the Attorney General or his or her designee; (vii) the Director of the Capital Development Board or his or her designee; and (viii) the Secretary of Transportation or his or her designee, all of whom shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable and necessary expenses from appropriations available for that purpose. The members shall elect one member to serve as chairperson of the Commission.

(b) The Commission shall:

(1) Assess the representation of women and minorities in the construction industry workforce.

(2) Calculate the cost benefit of the programs established under this Act, including:

(A) the increase of self-sufficiency among program participants;

(B) the diminishing use of public benefits by program participants; and

(C) increased income tax revenues realized by the State.

(3) Review reports and assess trends.

(4) Develop a 5 year plan to encourage the full participation of women and minorities in the trades and technical occupations. The plan shall include roles and responsibilities of both the public and private sector.

(5) Hold hearings on the statewide and regional levels.

(6) Recommend policies and programs.

(7) Advise State agencies in the operation of programs and services funded pursuant to this Act.

(8) File an annual report with the Illinois General Assembly, the State agencies described under subsection (b) of Section 25 of this Act, and the public.

Section 35. Allocation of funds.

(a) The State may reserve up to 5% of the funds provided under Sections 15 and 25 of this Act for administration.

(b) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall award, through a competitive grant process, 3 year initial grants to eligible entities for services to be provided under Section 15 of this Act. Each organization receiving multi-year funding will annually report on their programs and outcomes. The Commission shall review and approve all grant applications and awards. Subsequent grant cycles shall be for 2 years.

(c) In each grant cycle, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall award at least one grant per economic development region, provided that a qualifying proposal is received from the region in question.

(d) In awarding grants, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall consider the size of the construction projects in the geographic area covered by the proposal, relative to the size of the construction labor force statewide. In addition, the Department shall consider the areas that have the largest disparity of workforce representation in the construction industry.

(e) In awarding grants, preference shall be given to community-based training programs. Overall, at least 50% of the funds awarded under Section 15 of this Act shall be awarded to community-based organizations or collaboratives that include a community-based organization as a primary partner.

(f) A representative of a prospective grantee shall not be involved in the review of his or her organization's proposal.

Section 40. Accountability, evaluation, and oversight.

(a) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall establish performance measures related to the data collection requirements enumerated in Section 25.

(b) Evaluation of program impact shall be based upon an increase in the percentage of the targeted population in industry jobs; the increase in the rate of acceptance, completion and retention among targeted populations; raising the skill levels of individual participants contributing to their overall employability; and the increase in rate of employment, including hours, and annual income as measured against pre-program participant income.

(c) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may contract with eligible providers to deliver the technical assistance services under this Section.

Section 45. Funding authorization.

(a) From each State funded construction project with a budget over $1 million, one-half of 1 % of the project budget shall be reserved to sustain skilled training, outreach, data collection, worksite monitoring and the provision of technical assistance to help meet goals for inclusion of women and minorities.

(b) The funds are to be allocated to and administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which shall, through a competitive process, solicit proposals from qualified service providers.

(c) Each recipient of funds under this Act shall be required to provide a 25% match through any combination of funds and in kind contributions.