Local Job Opportunities and Business Success Act of 2011 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to limit the required composition of local workforce investment boards (local boards) to business representatives. Requires two-thirds of the members of a local board to be business owners or officers.
Requires local boards to conduct and regularly update analyses of: (1) local economic conditions, (2) immediate and long-term skilled workforce needs in the area, (3) the knowledge and skills of the local workforce, and (4) local workforce development activities.
Requires local boards to lead efforts to engage employers in the area to ensure that workforce investment activities meet their needs and support local economic growth.
Includes as part of those efforts the development or implementation of industry or sector partnerships that lead to collaborative planning, resource alignment, and training efforts across multiple firms to address the immediate and long-term skilled workforce needs of the local economy.
Requires local boards to develop strategies for using technological improvements to facilitate access to workforce development services.
Eliminates the requirement that each local board appoint a youth council as a subgroup of the board and select providers of youth activities on the basis of its recommendations.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3611 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3611
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to increase business
engagement and improve training opportunities for occupations that are
in-demand in order to get Americans back to work.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 8, 2011
Mr. Heck (for himself, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Hanna, Mr.
Gowdy, and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to increase business
engagement and improve training opportunities for occupations that are
in-demand in order to get Americans back to work.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Local Job Opportunities and Business
Success Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.
Section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
2801) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (18) through (53) as
paragraphs (19) through (54), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (17) the following:
``(18) Industry or sector partnership.--The term `industry
or sector partnership' means a partnership of a State or local
board and one or more industries and other entities that can
help determine the immediate and long-term skilled workforce
needs of in-demand industries and other occupations important
to the State or local economy.''.
SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE LOCAL BOARD.
Section 117 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
2832) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``include--'' and all that
follows through ``representatives'' and
inserting ``include representatives'';
(ii) by striking clauses (ii) through (vi);
(iii) by redesignating subclauses (I)
through (III) as clauses (i) through (iii),
respectively;
(iv) by striking clause (ii) (as so
redesignated) and inserting the following:
``(ii) represent businesses, including
large and small businesses, with immediate and
long-term employment opportunities in in-demand
industries and other occupations important to
the local economy; and''; and
(v) by striking the semicolon at the end of
clause (iii) (as so redesignated) and inserting
``; and''; and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``A majority''
and inserting ``A \2/3\ majority'';
(2) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
``(d) Functions of Local Board.--The functions of the local board
shall include the following:
``(1) Local plan.--Consistent with section 118, each local
board, in partnership with the chief elected official for the
local area involved, shall develop and submit a local plan to
the Governor.
``(2) Workforce research and regional labor market
analysis.--
``(A) In general.--The local board shall--
``(i) conduct, and regularly update, an
analysis of--
``(I) the economic conditions in
the local area;
``(II) the immediate and long-term
skilled workforce needs of in-demand
industries and other occupations
important to the local economy;
``(III) the knowledge and skills of
the workforce in the local area; and
``(IV) workforce development
activities (including education and
training) in the local area; and
``(ii) assist the Governor in developing
the statewide workforce and labor market
information system described in section 15(e)
of the Wagner-Peyser Act.
``(B) Existing analysis.--A local board may use
existing analysis by the local economic development
agency or related entity in order to carry out
requirements of subparagraph (A)(i).
``(3) Employer engagement.--The local board shall lead
efforts to engage employers in the local area, including small
employers and employers in in-demand industries and occupations
important to the local economy, including by--
``(A) ensuring that workforce investment activities
meet the needs of employers and support economic growth
in the local area, by enhancing communication,
coordination, and collaboration among employers,
economic development entities, and service providers;
``(B) developing effective linkages (including the
use of intermediaries) with employers in the local area
to support employer utilization of the local workforce
development system and to support local workforce
investment activities; and
``(C) developing and implementing industry or
sector partnerships that lead to collaborative
planning, resource alignment, and training efforts
across multiple firms to address the immediate and
long-term skilled workforce needs of in-demand
industries and other occupations important to the local
economy and to address critical skill gaps within and
across industries.
``(4) Budget and administration.--
``(A) Budget.--
``(i) In general.--The local board shall
develop a budget for the activities of the
local board in the local area, consistent with
the requirements of this subsection.
``(ii) Training reservation.--In developing
a budget under clause (i), the local board
shall reserve a percentage of funds to carry
out the activities specified in section
134(d)(4). The local board shall use the
analysis conducted under paragraph (2)(A)(i) to
determine the appropriate percentage to reserve
under this clause.
``(B) Administration.--
``(i) Grant recipient.--
``(I) In general.--The chief
elected official in a local area shall
serve as the local grant recipient for,
and shall be liable for any misuse of,
the grant funds allocated to the local
area under sections 128 and 133, unless
the chief elected official reaches an
agreement with the Governor for the
Governor to act as the local grant
recipient and bear such liability.
``(II) Designation.--In order to
assist in administration of the grant
funds, the chief elected official or
the Governor, where the Governor serves
as the local grant recipient for a
local area, may designate an entity to
serve as a local grant subrecipient for
such funds or as a local fiscal agent.
Such designation shall not relieve the
chief elected official or the Governor
of the liability for any misuse of
grant funds as described in subclause
(I).
``(III) Disbursal.--The local grant
recipient or an entity designated under
subclause (II) shall disburse the grant
funds for workforce investment
activities at the direction of the
local board, pursuant to the
requirements of this title. The local
grant recipient or entity designated
under subclause (II) shall disburse the
funds immediately on receiving such
direction from the local board.
``(ii) Staff.--The local board may employ
staff to assist in carrying out the functions
described in this subsection.
``(iii) Grants and donations.--The local
board may solicit and accept grants and
donations from sources other than Federal funds
made available under this Act.
``(5) Selection of operators and providers.--
``(A) Selection of one-stop operators.--Consistent
with section 121(d), the local board, with the
agreement of the chief elected official--
``(i) shall designate or certify one-stop
operators as described in section 121(d)(2)(A);
and
``(ii) may terminate for cause the
eligibility of such operators.
``(B) Identification of eligible service
providers.--Consistent with this subtitle, the local
board shall identify eligible service providers,
including providers of services described in section
134(d)(4), in the local area.
``(6) Program oversight.--The local board, in partnership
with the chief elected official, shall be responsible for--
``(A) conducting oversight for local employment and
training activities authorized under section 134(d);
``(B) conducting oversight of the one-stop delivery
system in the local area authorized under section 121;
and
``(C) ensuring the appropriate use and management
of the funds provided for such activities under this
title.
``(7) Negotiation of local performance measures.--The local
board, the chief elected official, and the Governor shall
negotiate and reach agreement on local performance measures as
described in section 136(c).
``(8) Technology improvements.--The local board shall
develop strategies for technology improvements to facilitate
access to services authorized under this subtitle and carried
out in the local area, including in remote areas.'';
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) by inserting ``electronic means and'' after
``regular basis through''; and
(B) by striking ``and the award of grants or
contracts to eligible providers of youth activities,'';
(4) by striking subsection (h) and redesignating subsection
(i) as subsection (h); and
(5) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated), by striking
``and paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (h)'' each place it
appears.
SEC. 4. CONTENTS OF THE LOCAL PLAN.
Section 118(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
2832(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Contents.--The local plan shall include--
``(1) a description of the analysis of the local area's
economic and workforce conditions conducted under section
117(d)(2)(A)(i), and an assurance that the local board will use
such analysis to carry out the activities under this subtitle;
``(2) a description of the one-stop delivery system in the
local area, including--
``(A) a description of how the local board will
ensure the continuous improvement of eligible providers
of services through the system and ensure that such
providers meet the employment needs of local employers
and participants; and
``(B) a description of how the local board will
facilitate access to services provided through the one-
stop delivery system consistent with section 117(d)(8);
``(3) a description of the strategies and services that
will be used in the local area--
``(A) to more fully engage employers, including
small employers and employers in in-demand industries
and occupations important to the local economy;
``(B) to meet the needs of businesses in the local
area; and
``(C) to better coordinate workforce development
programs with economic development;
``(4) a description of how the local board will convene (or
help to convene) industry or sector partnerships that lead to
collaborative planning, resource alignment, and training
efforts across multiple firms for a range of workers employed
or potentially employed by a targeted industry cluster--
``(A) to encourage industry growth and
competitiveness and to improve worker training,
retention, and advancement in targeted industry
clusters;
``(B) to address the immediate and long-term
skilled workforce needs of in-demand industries and
other occupations important to the local economy, and
``(C) to address critical skill gaps within and
across industries;
``(5) a description of how the funds reserved under section
117(d)(4)(A)(ii) will be used to carry out activities described
in section 134(d)(4);
``(6) a description of how the local board will coordinate
workforce investment activities carried out in the local area
with statewide activities, as appropriate;
``(7) a description of how the local area will--
``(A) coordinate activities with the local area's
disability community to make available comprehensive,
high-quality services to individuals with disabilities;
``(B) consistent with section 188 and Executive
Order 13217 (42 U.S.C. 12131 note), serve the
employment and training needs of individuals with
disabilities; and
``(C) consistent with sections 504 and 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, include the provision of
outreach, intake, assessments, and service delivery,
the development of performance measures, the training
of staff, and other aspects of accessibility to
programs and services under this subtitle;
``(8) a description of the local levels of performance
negotiated with the Governor and chief elected official
pursuant to section 136(c), to be--
``(A) used to measure the performance of the local
area; and
``(B) used by the local board for measuring
performance of the local fiscal agent (where
appropriate), eligible providers, and the one-stop
delivery system, in the local area;
``(9) a description of the process used by the local board,
consistent with subsection (c), to provide an opportunity for
public comment prior to submission of the plan;
``(10) an identification of the entity responsible for the
disbursal of grant funds described in subclause (III) of
section 117(d)(4)(B)(i), as determined by the chief elected
official or the Governor under such section; and
``(11) such other information as the Governor may
require.''.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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