HB4186eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
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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. Subject to appropriation,
9 the Fund shall be administered by the Department of Commerce
10 and Economic Opportunity, in consultation with the
11 Environmental Protection Agency. There shall be credited to the
12 Fund any monies specifically designated for deposit into the
13 Fund, including gifts, grants, and private contributions.
14 Earnings attributable to moneys in the Fund shall be deposited
15 into the Fund.
16     The Fund shall be used by the Department for the following
17 purposes:
18         (1) supporting, in conjunction with other private,
19     public, and philanthropic resources, the development and
20     implementation of worker skills training and education
21     programs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy
22     industries;
23         (2) collecting and analyzing labor market data to track

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1     Any green industry not listed in this Section may petition
2 the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for
3 inclusion on the Department of Commerce and Economic
4 Opportunity's list of eligible industries.
 
5     Section 25. Green Jobs Training Program Advisory
6 Committee. The Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
7 shall appoint an advisory committee to represent significant
8 constituencies.
 
9     Section 30. Audit. The Auditor General or his or her
10 designee shall audit the programs each year, using generally
11 accepted accounting principles.
 
12     Section 35. Research program. Subject to appropriation,
13 the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall collect
14 and analyze labor market data to track workforce trends
15 resulting from energy-related initiatives carried out under
16 this Act. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
17 shall report its findings to the General Assembly and Governor
18 by July 1 each year. The Department of Commerce and Economic
19 Opportunity's report shall:
20         (1) track and document participants' academic and
21     occupational competencies as well as whether their skill
22     sets match the needs of eligible industries;
23         (2) track and document occupational information and

 

 

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1     workforce training data that is relevant to the grant
2     programs administered under this Act;
3         (3) describe the Department of Commerce and Economic
4     Opportunity's efforts to collaborate with outside
5     agencies, workforce investment boards, industry, organized
6     labor, and community and nonprofit organizations to
7     disseminate information on successful innovations for
8     labor market services and worker training in eligible
9     industries;
10         (4) describe the Department of Commerce and Economic
11     Opportunity's efforts to link research and development in
12     renewable energy and energy efficiency technology with the
13     development of standards and curricula for current and
14     future jobs in eligible industries;
15         (5) assess new employment and workforce development
16     practices, including career ladder and upgrade training as
17     well as high performance work systems, in eligible
18     industries; and
19         (6) describe the Department of Commerce and Economic
20     Opportunity's efforts to provide technical assistance and
21     capacity building to national and State energy
22     partnerships.
 
23     Section 40. Energy Training Partnership Grants. Subject to
24 appropriation, the Director of Commerce and Economic
25 Opportunity shall, on a competitive basis, award Energy

 

 

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1 Training Partnership Grants from the Green Jobs Training Fund
2 to eligible entities (i) to enable those entities to carry out
3 training that leads to economic self-sufficiency for eligible
4 participants and (ii) to develop a skilled workforce for
5 eligible industries. Grants shall be awarded under this Section
6 to ensure some measure of geographic equality. Priority shall
7 be given to eligible entities that leverage additional public
8 and private resources to fund training programs, including cash
9 or in-kind matches from participating employers in eligible
10 industries.
 
11     Section 45. Pathways out of Poverty Grants. Subject to
12 appropriation, the Director of Commerce and Economic
13 Opportunity shall award competitive grants from the Green Jobs
14 Training Fund to eligible entities to enable those entities to
15 carry out training that leads to economic self-sufficiency for
16 eligible participants. The Director of Commerce and Economic
17 Opportunity shall give priority to eligible entities that (i)
18 serve individuals in families with a gross income of less than
19 200 percent of the federal poverty limit as determined by the
20 U.S. Census Bureau; (ii) leverage additional public and private
21 resources to fund training programs, including cash or in-kind
22 matches from participating employers; (iii) involve employers
23 and labor organizations in the determination of relevant skills
24 and competencies and ensure that the certificates or
25 credentials that result from the training are

 

 

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1 employer-recognized; (iv) deliver courses at alternative times
2 and locations most convenient and accessible to participants;
3 and (v) link adult remedial education with occupational skills
4 training. Grants shall be awarded under this Section so as to
5 ensure some degree of geographic equity in their distribution.
 
6     Section 50. Grant limitations. Grant moneys awarded under
7 this Act must be expended by the grant recipient within 2 years
8 after being received by the grant recipient. The Director may
9 not award an eligible entity more than $500,000 in grant
10 funding under this Act.
 
11     Section 55. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
12 Section 5.719 as follows:
 
13     (30 ILCS 105/5.719 new)
14     Sec. 5.719. The Green Jobs Training Fund.