Second Regular Session Sixty-ninth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 14-0737.01 Brita Darling x2241 HOUSE BILL 14-1179 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Landgraf, Rankin, Stephens, Wilson SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), House Committees Senate Committees Business, Labor, Economic, & Workforce Development A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning the creation of a grant program to provide accelerated workforce training for advanced industry employees including veterans. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill creates the veterans workforce accelerator grant program (grant program). The grant program awards grants to an eligible recipient as matching funding for an accelerated, hands-on skills training program for advanced industry jobs. The department of labor and employment (department) administers the grant program, and the state workforce development council (state council) awards the grant based on criteria outlined in the bill, with preference given to a training program that has, as a core component, advanced industry skills training for veterans. The bill creates the veterans workforce accelerator fund for the grant program. The department is required to establish reporting requirements for the grant recipient and to report to the general assembly concerning the grant program and the use and effectiveness of grant funds. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add part 2 to article 46.3 of title 24 as follows: PART 2 VETERANS WORKFORCE ACCELERATOR GRANT PROGRAM 24-46.3-201. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) Colorado and the rest of the nation has a significant need for skilled workers in advanced manufacturing and other advanced industries; (b) While many twenty-first-century jobs will require a four-year degree or beyond, many well-paying jobs will also be available for persons without a four-year degree who have an aptitude for science, technology, engineering, and math and who also have hands-on experience with the equipment and technology that delivers twenty-first-century products and services; (c) Veterans of the United States armed forces who have demonstrated technical expertise and professional competency in the skills necessary to succeed in today's military are well-suited for accelerated, advanced industry skills training and, with that training, to be highly competitive for positions in Colorado's growing economy; (d) Over the past few years, Colorado has recognized the tremendous potential for growth in manufacturing and other advanced industries and the need to position the state as a leader in these industries; (e) Specifically, Colorado has increased public investment through advanced industry grants to strengthen the connection between public and private research and private industry and entrepreneurship and to shorten the time to market of emerging technology and ideas; (f) Further, education stakeholders from middle schools, to community colleges and four-year institutions are working with industry leaders in advanced manufacturing to create a career pathway for Coloradans interested in manufacturing careers; and (g) An investment in a public-private partnership to facilitate accelerated, hands-on skills training in manufacturing and other advanced industries is an important and necessary component to moving Coloradans, including our veterans, into high-demand, well-paying positions in Colorado's emerging advanced industry economy. (2) Therefore, the general assembly finds and declares that establishing the veterans workforce accelerator grant program will: (a) Help retain and attract manufacturing and advanced industry employers to Colorado, thereby creating jobs for Coloradans and strengthening Colorado's position as a national leader in science- and technology-related employment; (b) Provide the hands-on, accelerated skills training necessary, using state-of-the-art equipment and technology, to allow persons, and specifically veterans, to compete for high-demand, well-paying positions in Colorado; and (c) Complement not only the state's investment of resources and energy in fostering an advanced industry economy but also the personal academic and economic goals of Coloradans, including, specifically, Colorado's returning veterans. 24-46.3-202. Definitions. As used in this part 2, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Advanced industry" means the following industries: (a) Advanced manufacturing; (b) Aerospace; (c) Bioscience; (d) Electronics; (e) Energy and natural resources; (f) Infrastructure engineering; and (g) Information technology. (2) "Department" means the department of labor and employment created in section 24-1-121, C.R.S. (3) "Fund" means the veterans workforce accelerator grant fund created in section 24-46.3-204. (4) "Grant program" means the veterans workforce accelerator grant program established in section 24-46.3-203. (5) "Innovation cluster" means a geographic concentration of competing and cooperating companies, suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions, such as government and academic institutions, that includes frequent and strong interaction between individuals and organizations, both formally and informally. Participants in an innovation cluster may access shared services, equipment, resources, communications, and workforce development and training. An "innovation cluster" includes advanced manufacturing companies and at least one other advanced industry. 24-46.3-203. Veterans workforce accelerator grant program - established. (1) There is established in the department the veterans workforce accelerator grant program. The purpose of the grant program is to accelerate workforce training in advanced industry for veterans and others who have the capacity to work in high-demand, skilled positions in advanced industries but who lack the industry-specific skills or experience necessary to fill those positions. The department shall administer the grant program. On or before September 1, 2014, the department shall develop application guidelines and deadlines and establish grantee reporting requirements and any other grant program policies. The grantee reporting requirements established by the department must include, at a minimum, reporting after the first full year of implementation, prior to the award of any additional grant moneys, and at the conclusion of the grant program. (2) (a) An applicant may apply for a grant based on the guidelines and deadlines established by the department in subsection (1) of this section. To be eligible for a grant, an applicant must: (I) Provide a detailed description of the training program, including the advanced industry skills training included in the training program, the current demand in Colorado for workers with the specific advanced industry skills included in the training program, and the measurable objectives of the training program; (II) Provide a detailed description of how the grant moneys will be used; (III) Verify that the applicant has a dedicated, matching source of moneys equal in amount to the grant moneys requested; (IV) Be affiliated with a regional innovation cluster or industry sector partnership that includes advanced manufacturing business entities and at least one other advanced industry business entity; (V) Have the infrastructure and capacity to provide time-compressed, hands-on skills training using current advanced industry equipment and technology; and (VI) Demonstrate the sustainability of the training program at the conclusion of the grant program. (b) The state council shall review grant applications and select a single grantee. In selecting the grant recipient, the state council shall give preference to a training program that: (I) Teaches advanced industry skills that have immediate application for the advanced industry employers in the region where the training program is located; (II) Has as a core component of the training program, advanced industry skills training of armed forces veterans; (III) Is working in collaboration with the community college or four-year institution of higher education in the region to provide hands-on, advanced industry skills training as part of a manufacturing career pathway or other aligned applied science program; and (IV) Is working in collaboration with the local workforce center and veterans employment representatives. (3) So long as a grant applicant meets the eligibility criteria for the grant, the state council shall award a grant in the 2014-15 state fiscal year in the amount requested by the grant recipient, not to exceed two million dollars. The state council shall not pay a grant to a recipient unless the recipient has received the dedicated, matching source of moneys required for the grant. The state council may award additional grant moneys as matching funds, not to exceed three million dollars in total, two million of which may be distributed in the 2015-16 fiscal year and one million of which may be distributed in the 2017-18 fiscal year, so long as the grant recipient is meeting the objectives of the grant program. 24-46.3-204. Veterans workforce accelerator fund - creation. (1) There is created in the state treasury the veterans workforce accelerator fund. The fund consists of: (a) Moneys that may be appropriated to the fund by the general assembly; and (b) Any gifts, grants, or donations credited to it pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. (2) (a) The department may seek and accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of the grant program; except that the department may not accept a gift, grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this part 2 or any other law of the state. The department shall transmit all private and public moneys received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the fund. (b) The general assembly finds that the implementation of this grant program does not rely entirely or in any part on the receipt of adequate funding through gifts, grants, or donations. Therefore, the department is not subject to the notice requirements specified in section 24-75-1303 (3). (3) The moneys in the fund are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the department for the purpose of awarding grants allowed by this part 2 and for the department's reasonable and necessary administrative costs associated with the grant program. (4) The state treasurer may invest any moneys in the fund not expended for the purpose of this part 2 as provided by law. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of moneys in the fund to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund; except that any unexpended moneys remaining in the fund upon the repeal of this part 2 are transferred to the general fund. 24-46.3-205. Reporting. (1) On or before July 1, 2015, and each July 1 thereafter, the department shall report to the general assembly pursuant to section 24-1-136 (9), which report shall include, at a minimum: (a) A detailed description of the program that received a grant or grants and the amount of the grant or grants; (b) The number of persons completing the training program, including the number of veterans receiving training; (c) The number of persons completing the program, including veterans, who have been employed in advanced industry jobs both in Colorado and elsewhere using the skills training acquired in the training program; (d) The collaboration between the training program and local education providers, including institutions of higher education with respect to students seeking academic credentials as well as skills training; (e) The sustainability of the training program after the final grant or grants are awarded; and (f) Any other information relevant to the success of the program in providing training that leads to employment in advanced industry and in developing the economy of the region where the program is located and of the state. 24-46.3-206. Repeal of part. This part 2 is repealed, effective July 1, 2018. SECTION 2. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.