II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 180

To streamline and reform Federal job training programs to create a worldclass workforce development system for the 21st century, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 9, 1995

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. SIMON, and Mr. DODD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor

and Human Resources

A BILL

To streamline and reform Federal job training programs

to create a world-class workforce development system

for the 21st century, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Workforce Development Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations.
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Sec. 4. Definitions.

TITLE I—STREAMLINING AND CONSOLIDATION

Sec. 101. Purpose; findings; sense of the Congress.

Sec. 102. Elimination of certain programs.

Sec. 103. Streamlining and integration of adult training programs.

Sec. 104. Process for establishing 21st century workforce development system.

Sec. 105. Centralized waivers.

TITLE II—MARKET BUILDING ACTIVITIES

Subtitle A—Federal Level Activities

Sec. 201. Purpose.

Sec. 202. National Workforce Development Board.

Sec. 203. Mechanisms for building high quality integrated workforce development systems.

Sec. 204. Quality assurance system.

Subtitle B—State Level Activities

Sec. 211. State Workforce Development Councils.

Sec. 212. Membership.

Sec. 213. Chairperson.

Sec. 214. Duties and responsibilities.

Sec. 215. Development of quality assurance systems and consumer reports.

Sec. 216. Administration.

Sec. 217. Establishment of unified service delivery areas.

Sec. 218. Financial and management information systems.

Sec. 219. Capacity building grants.

Sec. 220. Performance standards for unified service delivery areas.

Subtitle C—Local Level Activities

Sec. 231. Workforce development boards.

Sec. 232. Workforce development board policy blueprint.

Sec. 233. Report card.

Sec. 234. One-stop career centers.

Sec. 235. Capacity building.

TITLE III—ENHANCING INDIVIDUAL CHOICE THROUGH TRAINING

ACCOUNTS

Sec. 301. Purpose.

Sec. 302. Establishment.

Sec. 303. Participation of workforce development programs.

Sec. 304. Administration.

Sec. 305. Eligibility requirements for providers of education and training services.

Sec. 306. Evaluation and recommendations.

Sec. 307. Report relating to income support.

TITLE IV—PRIVATE-PUBLIC LINKAGES

Sec. 401. Purpose.

Sec. 402. Incentives to encourage worker training.

Sec. 403. Labor Day report on private-public training practices.
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Sec. 404. Matching grants to encourage incumbent worker training.

TITLE V—INTEGRATED LABOR MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEM

Sec. 501. Integrated labor market information.

Sec. 502. Responsibilities of the National Board.

Sec. 503. Responsibilities of the Secretary.

Sec. 504. Responsibilities of Governors.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) increasing international competition, techno4 logical advances, and structural changes in the Unit5 ed States economy present new challenges to private

6 firms and public policymakers in creating a skilled

7 workforce with the ability to adapt to change and

8 technological progress;

9 (2) the Federal Government should work with

10 the private sector to create a streamlined, high-per11 formance workforce development system that is driv12 en by the needs of its customers rather than bureau13 cratic requirements;

14 (3) such a system should actively encourage col15 laboration among private sector firms and publicly

16 funded education and training efforts in order to as17 sist jobseekers and workers to adjust to structural

18 economic changes;

19 (4) although it is necessary for the Federal

20 Government to consolidate or eliminate unnecessary

21 programs, the primary goal of Federal workforce de22 velopment policy should be to help facilitate trans-
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1 actions taking place between jobseekers, workers,

2 and business in local labor markets;

3 (5) while the Federal Government must main4 tain its commitment to provide economically and

5 educationally disadvantaged individuals with skills

6 and support services necessary to succeed in the

7 labor market, Federal workforce development policy

8 must also begin to provide incentives to assist firms

9 to help upgrade the skills of their front-line workers;

10 (6) in order for labor markets to function more

11 effectively, there must be—

12 (A) timely, accurate information about the

13 supply, demand, price, and quality of services

14 available in the job training marketplace; and

15 (B) trained brokers available to assist cus16 tomers to choose the most suitable service;

17 (7) accordingly, the United States needs a com18 prehensive integrated labor market information sys19 tem to ensure that workforce development programs

20 are related to the demand for particular skills in

21 local labor markets, and a mechanism for providing

22 brokerage services to ensure that information about

23 the employment and earnings of the local workforce,

24 and the performance of education and training insti-
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1 tutions, will be available to jobseekers, workers, and

2 firms;

3 (8) in order to bring more coherence to Federal

4 workforce development policy, there should be a sin5 gle entity at the Federal, State, and local level vest6 ed with the necessary authority to strategically plan

7 ways to transform the separate training and employ8 ment programs into an integrated and accountable

9 workforce development system;

10 (9) these Federal, State, and local strategic

11 planning bodies should be structured in such a way

12 to give businesses and workers a meaningful role in

13 shaping policy and overseeing the quality of

14 workforce development programs;

15 (10) in recent years, many States and commu16 nities have made progress in developing new ap17 proaches to better integrate Federal employment

18 and training programs;

19 (11) the Federal Government should take more

20 systematic measures to encourage experimentation

21 and flexibility, and to disseminate best practices in

22 the design and implementation of a comprehensive

23 workforce development system throughout the coun24 try; and
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1 (12) the Federal Government should address

2 the findings of this subsection through the imple3 mentation of immediate and long-term improvements

4 that result in the establishment of a high-quality

5 workforce development system needed for the econ6 omy of the 21st century.

7 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—

8 (1) to take certain immediate actions, and to

9 establish a process for bringing about longer term

10 improvements, that are needed to begin the trans11 formation of federally funded education and job

12 training efforts from a collection of fragmented pro13 grams into a coherent, integrated, accountable

14 workforce development system that—

15 (A) is based on the needs of jobseekers,

16 workers, and employers, rather than bureau17 cratic requirements;

18 (B) is accessible to any jobseeker, worker,

19 or employer;

20 (C) focuses on accountability, performance,

21 and accurate information;

22 (D) provides flexibility and responsibility

23 to the States, and in turn to local communities,

24 for design and implementation of workforce de25 velopment systems;
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1 (E) requires the active involvement of

2 firms and workers in the governance, design,

3 and implementation of such system;

4 (F) is linked directly to employment and

5 training opportunities in the private sector; and

6 (G) adopts best practices of quality admin7 istration and management that have been suc8 cessful in the private sector; and

9 (2) to authorize appropriations under this Act

10 for fiscal year 1996 at the same level as appropria11 tions are authorized for fiscal year 1995 for the pro12 grams repealed under section 102(a).

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), there

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out titles II,

16 III, and IV—

17 (1) $160,000,000 for fiscal year 1996; and

18 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of

19 fiscal years 1997 through 1999.

20 (b) LIMITATIONS.—

21 (1) FISCAL YEAR 1996.—Of the funds made

22 available pursuant to subsection (a) for fiscal year

23 1996—

24 (A) not more than 5 percent shall be used

25 for the activities of the National Board;
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1 (B) not more than 10 percent shall be

2 used for matching grants pursuant to section

3 404;

4 (C) not more than 15 percent shall be used

5 for development grants pursuant to section

6 203(a); and

7 (D) not less than 70 percent shall be used

8 for implementation grants pursuant to section

9 203(b).

10 (2) FISCAL YEARS 1997 THROUGH 1999.—Of the

11 funds made available pursuant to subsection (a) for

12 each of fiscal years 1997 through 1999—

13 (A) not more than 5 percent shall be used

14 for the activities of the National Board;

15 (B) not more than 10 percent shall be

16 used for matching grants pursuant to section

17 404; and

18 (C) not less than 85 percent shall be used

19 for implementation grants pursuant to section

20 203(b).

21 (c) INTEGRATED LABOR MARKET INFORMATION SYS22 TEM.—To carry out title V, there are authorized to be ap23 propriated—

24 (1) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 1996; and
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1 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each

2 succeeding fiscal year.

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

4 As used in this Act—

5 (1) DEVELOPMENT GRANT.—The term ‘‘devel6 opment grant’’ means a grant provided to each State

7 under section 203(a).

8 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘‘im9 plementation grant’’ means a grant provided under

10 section 203(b).

11 (3) LEADING EDGE STATE.—The term ‘‘leading

12 edge State’’ means a State that has been awarded

13 an implementation grant under section 203(b).

14 (4) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—

15 The term ‘‘workforce development program’’ means

16 any federally-funded or State-funded program that

17 provides job training assistance to individuals or as18 sists employers to identify or train workers.

19 (5) INTEGRATED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

20 SYSTEM; INTEGRATED SYSTEM.—The terms ‘‘inte21 grated workforce development system’’ and ‘‘inte22 grated system’’ mean the system of employment,

23 training, and employment-related education pro24 grams, including the programs described in section

25 103(a) and any additional Federal or State pro-
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1 grams designated by the Governor of a State, com2 prising the system described in section 203(b).

3 (6) NATIONAL BOARD.—The term ‘‘National

4 Board’’ means the National Workforce Development

5 Board established under section 202(b).

6 (7) NATIONAL REPORT CARD.—The term ‘‘Na7 tional Report Card’’ means the Nation’s Workforce

8 Development Report Card prepared pursuant to sec9 tion 202(c)(1).

10 (8) STATE COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘State Coun11 cil’’ means a State Workforce Development Council

12 established pursuant to section 211.

13 (9) STATE BLUEPRINT.—The term ‘‘State

14 Blueprint’’ means the State Workforce Development

15 Policy Blueprint prepared pursuant to section

16 214(a);

17 (10) STATE REPORT CARD.—The term ‘‘State

18 Report Card’’ means the State Workforce Develop19 ment Report Card issued pursuant to section

20 214(b).

21 (11) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD.—The

22 term ‘‘workforce development board’’ means a local

23 board established pursuant to section 202.

24 (12) UNIFIED SERVICE DELIVERY AREA.—The

25 term ‘‘unified service delivery area’’ means the com-
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1 mon geographic service area boundaries established

2 pursuant to section 217 and overseen by a workforce

3 development board.

4 (13) ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER.—The term

5 ‘‘one-stop career center’’ means an access point for

6 intake, assessment, referral, and placement services,

7 including services provided electronically, that is

8 part of the network established pursuant to section

9 234.

10 (14) HARD-TO-SERVE.—The term ‘‘hard-to11 serve’’ means an individual meeting the require12 ments of section 203(b) of the Job Training Part13 nership Act (29 U.S.C. 1603(b)).

14 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

15 means the Secretary of Labor, unless otherwise

16 specified.

17 TITLE I—STREAMLINING AND

18 CONSOLIDATION

19 SEC. 101. PURPOSE; FINDINGS; SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

20 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to stream21 line the system of federally funded employment training

22 services available to jobseekers, workers, and businesses.

23 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

24 (1) the process of streamlining the current col25 lection of federally funded employment training pro-
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1 grams begins with eliminating and consolidating sep2 arate employment training programs; and

3 (2) as such programs are eliminated, the fund4 ing for such programs should be utilized to support

5 the creation of a market-driven workforce develop6 ment system, as described in section 2(b).

7 (c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

8 Congress that—

9 (1) any budget savings realized as a result of

10 the repeal of programs pursuant to section 102 or

11 through the consolidation of programs pursuant to

12 sections 103 and 104 should be reinvested in the

13 Nation’s job training system; and

14 (2) as programs are eliminated and merged, it

15 is imperative that such elimination and merging be

16 done without in any way reducing the commitment

17 or level of effort of the Federal Government to im18 proving the education, employment, and earnings of

19 all workers and jobseekers particularly hard-to-serve

20 individuals.

21 SEC. 102. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions are re23 pealed:

24 (1) Section 6(d)(4) of the Food Stamp Act of

25 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)).
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1 (2) Section 211 of the Appalachian Regional

2 Development Act of 1965 (40 U.S.C. App. 211).

3 (3) Section 204 of the Immigration Reform and

4 Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C. 1255a note).

5 (4) Section 20 of the Federal Transit Act (49

6 U.S.C. App. 1616).

7 (5) The Displaced Homemaker Self-Sufficiency

8 Assistance Act (29 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).

9 (6) Section 43 of the Airline Deregulation Act

10 of 1978 (49 U.S.C. App. 1552).

11 (7) Title II of Public Law 95–250 (92 Stat.

12 172).

13 (8) Section 413 of the Carl D. Perkins Voca14 tional and Applied Technology Education Act (21

15 U.S.C. 2413).

16 (9) Title V of the Job Training Partnership Act

17 (29 U.S.C. 1791 et seq.).

18 (10) Part J of title IV such Act (29 U.S.C.

19 1784 et seq.).

20 (11) Section 325 of such Act (29 U.S.C.

21 1662d).

22 (12) Section 325A of such Act (29 U.S.C.

23 1662d–1).

24 (13) Section 326 of such Act (29 U.S.C.

25 1662e).
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1 (14) Sections 1141 through 1144 of title 10,

2 United States Code.

3 (15) Subtitle C of title VII of the Stewart B.

4 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

5 11441 et seq.).

6 (b) REPEALS OF EMPLOYMENT TRAINING PRO7 GRAMS.—The repeals made by subsection (a) shall take

8 effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

9 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

10 The National Board shall include in the draft joint resolu11 tion submitted under section 104(b), technical and con12 forming amendments regarding the provisions repealed

13 under subsection (a). Such proposed amendments should

14 be consistent with the purposes of this Act.

15 SEC. 103. STREAMLINING AND INTEGRATION OF ADULT

16 TRAINING PROGRAMS.

17 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives an im19 plementation grant to develop an integrated

20 workforce development system—

21 (A) shall include in such system the com22 ponents of the program and activities carried

23 out on the date of enactment of this Act under

24 the provisions described in subsection (b)(1);

25 and
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1 (B) may include any other Federal or

2 State workforce development program identified

3 by the Governor under paragraph (2).

4 (2) ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS.—Any other Fed5 eral or State workforce development program identi6 fied by the Governor pursuant to section 203(b),

7 subject to a two-thirds vote of the National Board,

8 may be included in the integrated system of a State

9 described in paragraph (1).

10 (b) REPEALS OF JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions are

12 repealed:

13 (A) Part A of title II of the Job Training

14 Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

15 (B) Title III of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1651

16 et seq.).

17 (C) Part C of title IV of such Act (29

18 U.S.C. 1721).

19 (D) The Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 40

20 et seq.).

21 (E) Sections 235 and 236 of the Trade

22 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2295 and 2296), and

23 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 250(d) of

24 such Act (19 U.S.C. 2331(d)(1) and(2)).
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1 (F) The Refugee Education Assistance Act

2 of 1980 (8 U.S.C. 1522 note).

3 (G) Title V of the Older Americans Act of

4 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.).

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeals made by

6 paragraph (1) shall take effect on September 30,

7 1999.

8 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND9 MENTS.—The National Board shall include in the

10 draft joint resolution submitted under section

11 104(b), technical and conforming amendments re12 garding the provisions repealed under subsection (a).

13 Such proposed amendments should be consistent

14 with the purposes of this Act.

15 SEC. 104. PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHING 21ST CENTURY

16 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM.

17 (a) ANNUAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than

18 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and each

19 June 1 thereafter, the National Board shall make rec20 ommendations to the President and Congress for the

21 elimination of Federal workforce development programs,

22 or programs whose functions should be subsumed under

23 other Federal programs.

24 (b) REPORT AND JOINT RESOLUNTION.—
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1 (1) REPORT.—Not later than June 1, 1999, the

2 National Board, based on such board’s analysis of

3 the experience of leading edge States and the

4 progress made toward establishing an integrated,

5 market-driven workforce development system, shall

6 prepare and submit to the Committee on Economic

7 and Educational Opportunities of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Labor and

9 Human Resources of the Senate a report containing

10 the findings of such board, and recommendations for

11 proposed reforms.

12 (2) JOINT RESOLUTION.—Not later than June

13 1, 1999, the National Board shall submit to the

14 Congress a draft of a joint resolution containing pro15 visions to develop a streamlined, integrated, market16 driven workforce development system, from the pro17 grams described in section 103(b) and any other

18 Federal workforce development program determined

19 by the National Board as appropriate to be included

20 that is consistent with this Act, pursuant to section

21 2(b). The joint resolution shall include recommenda22 tions for standard outcome measures as described in

23 section 204(a)(2) and shall describe how the new

24 system will maintain services to hard-to-serve popu25 lations.
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1 SEC. 105. CENTRALIZED WAIVERS.

2 (a) EXPEDITED PROCESS.—Not later than 180 days

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall

4 establish an expedited process to consider and act on waiv5 er requests submitted by the States under this section.

6 (b) STATES NOT RECEIVING IMPLEMENTATION

7 GRANTS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any State may apply, in ac9 cordance with this section, for a waiver of statutory

10 or regulatory requirements under one or more of the

11 programs described in section 103(b)(1), for a pe12 riod of 2 years to facilitate the provision of assist13 ance for workforce development.

14 (2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—A waiver may be

15 granted under this subsection only if—

16 (A) the requirement sought to be waived

17 impedes the ability of the State, or a local en18 tity in the States, to carry out the State or

19 local workforce development plan;

20 (B) the State has waived, or agrees to

21 waive, similar requirements of State law; and

22 (C) in the case of a statewide waiver, the

23 State—

24 (i) provides all State and local agen25 cies and appropriate organizations in the

26 State, including labor organizations, with
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1 notice and an opportunity to comment on

2 the State’s proposal to seek a waiver; and

3 (ii) submits the affected agency’s com4 ments with the waiver application.

5 (3) APPLICATION.—Each application submitted

6 under this subsection shall—

7 (A) identify the statutory or regulatory re8 quirements that are requested to be waived and

9 the goals that the State or local agency intends

10 to achieve;

11 (B) describe the action that the State has

12 undertaken to remove State statutory or regu13 latory barriers identified in the application;

14 (C) describe the purpose of the waiver and

15 the expected programmatic outcomes if the re16 quest is granted;

17 (D) describe the numbers and types of peo18 ple to be affected by such waiver;

19 (E) describe a timetable for implementing

20 the waiver;

21 (F) describe the process the State will use

22 to monitor, on a biannual basis, the progress in

23 implementing the waiver; and
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1 (G) describe how the goals of the program

2 or programs for which a waiver is granted will

3 continue to be met.

4 (c) STATES RECEIVING IMPLEMENTATION

5 GRANTS.—Subject to subsection (d), each State receiving

6 an implementation grant under section 203(b) shall have

7 the statutory or regulatory requirement, described in its

8 grant application or State Blueprint of such State waived

9 for the duration of the implementation grant.

10 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A waiver shall not be grant12 ed under a workforce development program if such

13 waiver would alter—

14 (A) the purposes or goals of such program;

15 (B) the allocation of funds under such pro16 gram;

17 (C) any statutory or regulatory require18 ment under such program relating to public

19 health or safety, civil rights, protections granted

20 under title I and sections 503 and 504 of the

21 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et

22 seq.), occupational safety and health, environ23 mental protection, displacement of current em24 ployees, or fraud and abuse; or
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1 (D) eligibility requirements under such

2 program, except that a waiver may be granted

3 with respect to an eligibility requirement if such

4 waiver would provide for increased flexibility in

5 developing common definitions for individuals

6 eligible for such program.

7 (2) CIRCULARS AND RELATED REGULATIONS.—

8 The following circulars promulgated by the Office of

9 Management and Budget shall be subject to the

10 waiver authority of this subsection:

11 (A) A–87, relating to cost principles for

12 State and local governments.

13 (B) A–102, relating to grants and coopera14 tive agreements with State and local govern15 ments.

16 (C) A–122, relating to nonprofit organiza17 tions.

18 (D) A–110, relating to administrative re19 quirements for grants and cooperative agree20 ments with nonprofit organizations and institu21 tions of higher education.

22 (E) A–21, relating to cost principles for in23 stitutions of higher education.
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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A waiver granted under

2 this section shall take effect on the date such waiver

3 is granted.

4 (4) REVIEW OF APPLICATION.—Each applica5 tion submitted by a State pursuant to subsection

6 (b)(3) shall be reviewed by the Secretary or agency

7 head who has jurisdiction over the workforce devel8 opment program or programs to which such waiver

9 request relates.

10 (5) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF APPLICA11 TION.—

12 (A) TIMING.—Each application submitted

13 by a State in accordance with subsection (b)(3)

14 shall be reviewed promptly upon receipt, and

15 shall be approved or disapproved not later than

16 the end of the 60-day period beginning on the

17 date such application is received.

18 (B) APPROVAL.—A waiver or waivers pro19 posed in an application may be approved for the

20 2-year period beginning on the date such appli21 cation is approved, if the State demonstrates in

22 the application that such waiver or waivers will

23 achieve coordination, expansion, and improve24 ment in the quality of services under its

25 workforce development system.
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1 (C) DISAPPROVAL AND RESUBMISSION.—If

2 an application is incomplete or unsatisfactory,

3 the appropriate Federal official shall, before the

4 end of the period referred to in subparagraph

5 (A)—

6 (i) notify the State of the reasons for

7 the failure to approve the application;

8 (ii) notify the State that the applica9 tion may be resubmitted during the period

10 referred to in clause (iii); and

11 (iii) permit the State to resubmit a

12 corrected or amended application during

13 the 60-day period beginning on the date of

14 notification under this subparagraph.

15 (D) REVIEW OF RESUBMITTED APPLICA16 TION.—Any application resubmitted under sub17 paragraph (C) shall be approved or disapproved

18 before the expiration of the 60-day period be19 ginning on the date of the resubmission.

20 (6) REVOCATION OF WAIVER.—If, after the ap21 proval of an application under this subsection, the

22 Secretary determines that the waiver or waivers do

23 not achieve coordination, expansion, and improve24 ment in the quality of services under the workforce

25 development programs to which such waiver or waiv-
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1 ers relate, the waiver or waivers may be revoked in

2 whole or in part.

3 TITLE II—MARKET BUILDING

4 ACTIVITIES

5 Subtitle A—Federal Level

6 Activities

7 SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

8 The purpose of this title is to establish a framework

9 at the Federal, State, and local levels for key stakeholders

10 to work cooperatively to build the infrastructure, broker11 age, and accountability systems needed to transform cur12 rent Federally funded job training programs into a mar13 ket-driven workforce development system.

14 SEC. 202. NATIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD.

15 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that a national

16 workforce development board is necessary to ensure—

17 (1) the establishment and continuous improve18 ment of the national workforce development system;

19 (2) that integrated strategic planning takes

20 place among the Federal agencies currently respon21 sible for administering job training programs;

22 (3) incorporation of private sector expertise to

23 the governance of the national workforce develop24 ment system; and
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1 (4) that unnecessary legislative and regulatory

2 barriers to service integration are removed as a mar3 ket-driven workforce development system is estab4 lished.

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Na7 tional Workforce Development Board (referred to in

8 this Act as the ‘‘National Board’’).

9 (2) COMPOSITION.—The National Board shall

10 be comprised of 16 members, of whom—

11 (A) one member shall be the Secretary of

12 Labor;

13 (B) one member shall be the Secretary of

14 Education;

15 (C) one member shall be the Secretary of

16 Health and Human Services;

17 (D) one member shall be the Secretary of

18 Commerce;

19 (E) three members shall be representatives

20 of business (including representatives of small

21 businesses and large employers);

22 (F) three members shall be representatives

23 of organized labor;

24 (G) three members shall be State and local

25 elected officials of whom two shall be Governors
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1 of a State and one shall be a local elected offi2 cial; and

3 (H)(i) one member shall be selected from

4 representatives of community-based organiza5 tions;

6 (ii) one member shall be selected from rep7 resentatives of secondary schools or postsecond8 ary educational institutions; and

9 (iii) one member shall be selected from

10 representatives of nongovernmental organiza11 tions that have a history of successfully protect12 ing the rights of individuals with disabilities or

13 older persons.

14 (3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The mem15 bers described in subparagraphs (E) and (F) of

16 paragraph (2) shall—

17 (A) in the aggregate, represent a broad

18 cross-section of occupations and industries;

19 (B) to the extent feasible, be geographi20 cally representative of the United States, and

21 reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of

22 the United States; and

23 (C) shall include at least one member of

24 the National Skill Standards Board established
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1 pursuant to section 503 the National Skill

2 Standards Act of 1994.

3 (4) EXPERTISE.—The National Board and the

4 staff shall have sufficient expertise to effectively

5 carry out the duties and functions of the National

6 Board.

7 (5) APPOINTMENT.—The members described in

8 subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph

9 (2) shall be appointed by the President, by and with

10 the advice and consent of the Senate.

11 (6) EX OFFICIO NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The

12 Director of the Office of Management and Budget

13 and the chairpersons and ranking minority members

14 of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

15 of the Senate and the Committee on Economic and

16 Educational Opportunities of the House of Rep17 resentatives shall be ex officio, nonvoting members

18 of the National Board.

19 (7) TERMS.—Each member of the National

20 Board appointed under subparagraph (E), (F), (G),

21 and (H) of paragraph (2) shall be appointed for a

22 term of 4 years, except that of the initial members

23 of the National Board appointed under such sub24 paragraphs—
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1 (A) four members shall be appointed for a

2 term of 2 years;

3 (B) four members shall be appointed for a

4 term of 3 years; and

5 (C) four members shall be appointed for a

6 term of 4 years.

7 (8) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the National

8 Board shall not affect the powers of the National

9 Board, but shall be filled in the same manner as the

10 original appointments.

11 (9) CHAIRPERSONS.—The President, by and

12 with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall se13 lect one cochairperson of the National Board from

14 among the members of the National Board ap15 pointed under paragraph (2)(E) and one cochairper16 son from among the members appointed pursuant to

17 paragraph (2)(F).

18 (10) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—

19 (A) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the

20 National Board who is not a full-time employee

21 or officer of the Federal Government shall serve

22 without compensation. Each member of the Na23 tional Board who is an officer or employee of

24 the Federal Government shall serve without

25 compensation in addition to that received for
29

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1 the services of such member as an officer or

2 employee of the Federal Government.

3 (B) EXPENSES.—The members of the Na4 tional Board shall be allowed travel expenses,

5 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at

6 rates authorized for employees of agencies

7 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,

8 United States Code, while away from their

9 homes or regular places of business in the per10 formance of services for the National Board.

11 (11) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF.—

12 (A) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The cochair13 persons of the National Board shall appoint an

14 Executive Director who shall be compensated at

15 a rate determined by the National Board, not

16 to exceed the rate payable for level V of the Ex17 ecutive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

18 United States Code.

19 (B) STAFF.—The Executive Director

20 may—

21 (i) appoint and compensate such addi22 tional staff as may be necessary to enable

23 the National Board to perform its duties;

24 and
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1 (ii) fix the compensation of the staff

2 without regard to the provisions of chapter

3 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of

4 title 5, United States Code, relating to

5 classifications of positions and General

6 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of

7 pay for the staff may not exceed the rate

8 payable for level V of the Executive Sched9 ule under section 5316 of such title.

10 (12) AGENCY SUPPORT.—

11 (A) USE OF FACILITIES.—The National

12 Board may use the research, equipment, serv13 ices, and facilities of any agency or instrumen14 tality of the United States with the consent of

15 such agency or instrumentality.

16 (B) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon

17 the request of the National Board, the head of

18 any Federal agency may detail to the National

19 Board, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per20 sonnel of such Federal agency to assist the Na21 tional Board in carrying out this Act. Such de22 tail shall be without interruption or loss of civil

23 service status or privilege.

24 (13) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND

25 INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—The co-chairpersons of
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1 the National Board may procure temporary and

2 intermittent services of experts and consultants

3 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.

4 (c) DUTIES.—

5 (1) NATIONAL REPORT CARD.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than July 1,

7 1996, and each July 1 thereafter, the National

8 Board shall prepare a report to be known as

9 the Nation’s Workforce Development Report

10 Card (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘National

11 Report Card’’).

12 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The National Re13 port Card shall assess the performance of the

14 workforce development system of the United

15 States, based on the earnings and employment

16 gains and other nonemployment-related out17 comes of individuals assisted by the programs

18 comprising such system. The National Report

19 Card shall evaluate all workforce development

20 programs that receive Federal funding, and

21 shall—

22 (i) assess the performance of each

23 program;

24 (ii) assess performance based on the

25 type of assistance provided, including the
32

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1 categories of services identified in section

2 204(b)(1)(C);

3 (iii) assess year-to-year changes in

4 performance;

5 (iv) report on the extent to which

6 hard-to-serve populations are receiving

7 services and the related outcomes in rela8 tion to services received in the preceding

9 three years;

10 (v) determine the annual Federal in11 vestment in workforce development in each

12 State;

13 (vi) assess the lessons learned from

14 the experience of leading-edge States, and

15 States that waive certain program require16 ments to experiment with alternative

17 workforce development strategies; and

18 (vii) assess the performance of the

19 workforce development system in each

20 State.

21 (2) CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY.—The cochair22 persons of the National Board shall, at least annu23 ally, provide testimony, during a joint hearing before

24 the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of

25 the Senate and the Committee on Economic and
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1 Educational Opportunities of the House of Rep2 resentatives on the progress being made in—

3 (A) developing a more streamlined inte4 grated and accountable public and private

5 workforce development system in the United

6 States; and

7 (B) carrying out the purposes described in

8 section 2(b).

9 (3) REVIEW OF GRANT PROPOSALS.—The Na10 tional Board shall review the development grant pro11 posals pursuant section 203(a), the implementation

12 grant proposals pursuant to section 203(b), and the

13 matching grant proposals submitted pursuant to sec14 tion 404, and make recommendations to the Sec15 retary regarding such proposals.

16 (4) FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than

17 June 1, 1999, the National Board shall submit rec18 ommendations in the form of a joint resolution to

19 the President and Congress, pursuant to section

20 104(b).

21 (d) TERMINATION.—The National Board shall termi22 nate on the date on which the National Board submits

23 the joint resolution to President and Congress under sec24 tion 104(b).

25 (e) NATIONAL FOR EMPLOYMENT POLICY.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part F of title IV of the Job

2 Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.)

3 is repealed.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (i)

5 of section 106 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(i)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘(i) FUNCTIONS OF NCEP.—

7 The National Commission for Employment Policy’’

8 and inserting ‘‘(i) FUNCTIONS OF NATIONAL

9 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD.—The National

10 Workforce Development Board established under

11 section 202 of the Workforce Development Act’’.

12 SEC. 203. MECHANISMS FOR BUILDING HIGH QUALITY IN13 TEGRATED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYS14 TEMS.

15 (a) STATE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.—

16 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection

17 is to assist States and communities in strategic

18 planning for integrated workforce development sys19 tems, including the development of a financial and

20 management information system, a quality assur21 ance system, and an integrated labor market infor22 mation system.

23 (2) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may

24 provide a development grant to a State in such

25 amount as the Secretary, in consultation with the
35

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1 National Board, determines to be necessary to en2 able such State to develop a strategic plan, as de3 scribed in paragraph (1), for the development of a

4 comprehensive statewide integrated workforce devel5 opment system.

6 (3) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a

7 development grant under this subsection, the Gov8 ernor of a State, on behalf of the State, shall submit

9 to the National Board and the Secretary an applica10 tion, at such time, in such form, and containing

11 such information as the Secretary may require.

12 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS TO LEADING-EDGE

13 STATES.—

14 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection

15 is to assist States in implementing statewide high16 quality integrated workforce development systems

17 that are accountable for achieving results.

18 (2) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary, in

19 consultation with the National Board, may provide

20 an implementation grant to the State in such

21 amount as the Secretary determines to be necessary

22 to enable such State to implement an integrated

23 workforce development system.

24 (3) PERIOD OF GRANT.—The provision of pay25 ments under a grant under this subsection shall not
36

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1 exceed 4 fiscal years, and shall be subject to the an2 nual approval of the Secretary, in consultation with

3 the National Board, and the availability of appro4 priations for the fiscal year involved.

5 (4) ALLOCATION REQUIREMENTS.—

6 (A) FIRST YEAR.—For the first fiscal year

7 for which a State receives amounts from an im8 plementation grant under this subsection, the

9 State shall use not less than 75 percent of such

10 amount to provide subgrants to local workforce

11 development boards.

12 (B) SECOND YEAR.—For the second fiscal

13 year for which a State receives amounts from

14 an implementation grant under this subsection,

15 the State shall use not less than 80 percent of

16 such amount to provide subgrants to local

17 workforce development boards.

18 (C) THIRD AND SUCCEEDING YEARS.—For

19 the third, and each succeeding, fiscal year for

20 which a State receives amounts from an imple21 mentation grant under this subsection, the

22 State shall use not less than 85 percent of such

23 amount to provide subgrants to local workforce

24 development boards.
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1 (5) LIMITATION.—A State shall be eligible to

2 receive not more than 1 implementation grant under

3 this subsection.

4 (6) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive an

5 implementation grant under this subsection, the

6 Governor of a State, on behalf of the State, shall

7 submit to the National Board and the Secretary an

8 application that shall include a copy of the State

9 Blueprint and such other information as the Sec10 retary, with the advice of the National Board, may

11 require.

12 (c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON BEST

13 PRACTICES.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Na14 tional Board, shall—

15 (1) collect and disseminate information that will

16 assist State and local communities undertaking ac17 tivities to streamline and reform their job training

18 systems, including information on—

19 (A) the successful experiences of States

20 and localities that—

21 (i) have received development or im22 plementation grants;

23 (ii) have been granted waivers; or
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1 (iii) are experimenting with training

2 account systems established under title III

3 of this Act; and

4 (B) research concerning the restructuring

5 of workforce development systems; and

6 (2) facilitate the exchange of information and

7 ideas among States and local entities that are build8 ing market-based workforce development systems.

9 (d) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT RE10 PORTS.—

11 (1) SUBMISSION.—For each bill or resolution

12 concerning workforce development reported by any

13 committee of the Senate or the House of Represent14 atives, the National Board shall determine whether

15 proposed Federal job training legislation complies

16 with the data reporting, common definitions, and

17 common funding cycles described in subsections (b)

18 and (e) of section 204. A determination of compli19 ance by the National Board under this subsection

20 shall be included in the committee report accom21 panying such legislation, if timely submitted to such

22 committee before such report is filed.

23 (2) PROCEDURE.—It shall not be in order in

24 the Senate or the House of Representatives to con25 sider any bill or resolution concerning workforce de-
39

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1 velopment that would not comply with the national

2 workforce development system, as determined by the

3 National Board under paragraph (1).

4 (3) WAIVER.—This subsection may be waived

5 or suspended in the Senate or the House of Rep6 resentatives only by the affirmative vote of three7 fifths of the members of such House.

8 SEC. 204. QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM.

9 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to im10 prove the quality of all Federal programs directed at im11 proving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of members of

12 the workforce by strengthening accountability and encour13 aging the adoption of quality improvement processes at

14 all levels of the workforce development system. In order

15 to accomplish this purpose, this Act—

16 (1) directs the Secretaries of Labor, Education,

17 and Health and Human Services to jointly, in con18 sultation with the National Board—

19 (A) develop common terms and definitions

20 as described in subsection (b);

21 (B) develop a placement accountability sys22 tem as described in subsection (c); and

23 (C) adjust existing program performance

24 standards as described in section 220(c); and
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1 (2) directs the National Board to recommend a

2 system of performance standards in its joint resolu3 tion submitted to Congress pursuant to section

4 104(b) that includes standard outcome measures re5 lating to—

6 (A) employment;

7 (B) job retention;

8 (C) earnings; and

9 (D) nonemployment outcome measures,

10 such as learning and competency gains.

11 (b) COMMON TERMS AND DEFINITIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each workforce development

13 program that receives Federal funds shall collect

14 and report to the Governor and the State Council,

15 if applicable, for each participant to whom assist16 ance is provided, the following information:

17 (A) The quarterly employment status and

18 earnings for 1 year after the participant no

19 longer receives assistance under such program.

20 (B) Economic and demographic character21 istics, including the participant’s—

22 (i) social security number;

23 (ii) date of birth;

24 (iii) gender;

25 (iv) race or ethnicity;
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1 (v) disability status;

2 (vi) education (highest formal grade

3 level achieved at commencement of partici4 pation in program);

5 (vii) academic degrees and credentials

6 at time of entry into the program; and

7 (viii) employment status at the time

8 of entry into the program.

9 (C) Services received, the extent, when ap10 propriate, and spending for such services, in11 cluding—

12 (i) assessments;

13 (ii) testing;

14 (iii) counseling;

15 (iv) job development or job search as16 sistance;

17 (v) occupational skills training;

18 (vi) work experience;

19 (vii) job readiness training;

20 (viii) basic skills education;

21 (ix) postsecondary academic education

22 (nonoccupational);

23 (x) supportive and supplementary

24 services; and

25 (xi) on-the-job training.
42

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1 (D) Program outcomes, as specified by the

2 State, such as—

3 (i) advancement to higher level edu4 cation or training;

5 (ii) attainment of additional degrees

6 or credentials (including skill standards as

7 such standards become available);

8 (iii) assessment of learning gain in

9 basic skills programs;

10 (iv) attainment and retention of sub11 sidized or unsubsidized employment;

12 (v) quarterly earnings; and

13 (vi) reduction in welfare dependency.

14 (2) REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING REQUIRE15 MENTS.—Program monitoring under this section

16 shall supplant existing monitoring and reporting re17 quirements for program participants.

18 (3) ADOPTION OF COMMON TERMS AND DEFINI19 TIONS.—

20 (A) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, each

22 Federal department and agency with respon23 sibility for a workforce development program

24 shall report to the National Board on its

25 progress in adopting the common terms and
43

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1 definitions for program participants, service ac2 tivities, and outcomes by program operators

3 and grant recipients.

4 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1

5 year after the date of enactment of this Act,

6 each workforce development program receiving

7 Federal funds shall use the common terms and

8 definitions.

9 (C) USE.—Upon adoption by the appro10 priate Federal agencies, the common definitions

11 for terminology developed and reported pursu12 ant to section 455 of the Job Training Partner13 ship Act (29 U.S.C. 1735(b)) shall be utilized

14 in interpreting and compiling the core data ele15 ments. Notwithstanding any other provision of

16 Federal law, such common definitions shall be

17 utilized in lieu of existing program definitions

18 for similar data elements.

19 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 180

20 days after the date all of the Members of the Na21 tional Board are appointed, the National Board shall

22 make recommendations to the Secretaries of Labor,

23 Education, and Health and Human Services, and

24 the heads of other agencies operating workforce de-
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1 velopment programs, on common definitions for

2 other terms, including terms relating to—

3 (A) program status, including—

4 (i) applicant;

5 (ii) participant;

6 (iii) terminee; and

7 (iv) training-related placement;

8 (B) program eligibility, including—

9 (i) family income; and

10 (ii) economically disadvantaged indi11 viduals; and

12 (C) other terms considered appropriate by

13 the National Board, such as common cost cat14 egories.

15 (5) AMENDMENTS.—If any of the proposed

16 common definitions require amendment to existing

17 laws, the National Board shall submit to Congress

18 recommendations for legislative action not later than

19 9 months after the date all of the members of the

20 National Board are appointed.

21 (c) PLACEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of this sub23 section is to establish a placement accountability

24 system using a cost-effective data source with infor25 mation on job placement, earnings, and job reten-
45

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1 tion, to foster accountability by all federally funded

2 workforce development programs.

3 (2) PERFORMANCE MONITORING.—Each

4 workforce development program that receives Fed5 eral funds shall—

6 (A) engage in continuous performance self7 monitoring by measuring, at a minimum, the

8 quarterly employment status and earnings of

9 each recipient of assistance under such pro10 gram; and

11 (B) monitor each recipient of assistance

12 for a period of not less than 1 year, beginning

13 on the date on which the recipient no longer re14 ceives assistance under such program.

15 (3) INFORMATION MATCHING.—

16 (A) CORE DATA.—Each workforce develop17 ment program that receives Federal funds shall

18 provide the information described in subsection

19 (b) regarding program participants to the State

20 agency responsible for labor market information

21 designated in title V.

22 (B) MATCHING.—The State agency re23 sponsible for labor market information des24 ignated in title V shall, in conjunction with the

25 Bureau of Labor Statistics, match the informa-
46

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1 tion provided pursuant to subparagraph (A)

2 with quarterly employment and earnings

3 records.

4 (4) REIMBURSEMENT.—Requesting programs

5 shall reimburse the State agency responsible for

6 wage record data for the cost of matching such in7 formation. Notwithstanding any other provision of

8 Federal law, requesting programs may use Federal

9 funds for such reimbursement.

10 (5) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Requesting pro11 grams—

12 (A) shall protect the confidentiality of

13 wage record data through the use of recognized

14 security procedures; and

15 (B) may not retain such data for more

16 than 10 years.

17 (6) SUBMISSION TO STATE COUNCIL.—The

18 State agency responsible for labor market informa19 tion shall submit the results of the matching to the

20 State Council, in accordance with procedures and

21 schedules specified by the National Board and the

22 Secretary.

23 (7) RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNORS.—The

24 Governor of each State shall ensure the submission

25 of the matched data to the State Council, the Na-
47

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1 tional Board, the Secretary, and other Federal enti2 ties, as required by the National Board.

3 (d) DISSEMINATION OF QUALITY ASSURANCE.—The

4 information obtained under subsection (c) shall be made

5 available to—

6 (1) the State Council of the State in which the

7 program is located;

8 (2) the local workforce development boards in

9 the State in which the program is located; and

10 (3) consumers of labor market information to

11 judge individual program performance in an easily

12 accessible format.

13 (e) CONSISTENT FUNDING CYCLES.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—All federally funded

15 workforce development training activities shall, to

16 the extent practicable, be funded on a consistent

17 funding cycle basis.

18 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDING

19 CYCLE.—Not later than 180 days after the date on

20 which all of the members of the National Board are

21 appointed, the National Board shall make rec22 ommendations to Congress on the appropriate fund23 ing cycle to be used for all workforce development

24 programs and activities.
48

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1 Subtitle B—State Level Activities

2 SEC. 211. STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each State desiring to par4 ticipate in the development of an integrated and account5 able workforce development system under the procedures

6 specified in section 203(b) shall establish a State

7 Workforce Development Council (referred to in this Act

8 as a ‘‘State Council’’) or have located within such State

9 an existing entity that is similar to a State Council and

10 that includes members who are representatives of employ11 ers and workers.

12 (b) PURPOSE.—Each State Council shall serve as the

13 principal advisory board for the Governor of such State

14 for all programs included in the integrated workforce de15 velopment system of such State.

16 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Each State Council shall assume

17 the functions and responsibilities of councils and commis18 sions required under Federal law that are part of the inte19 grated workforce development system of such State.

20 SEC. 212. MEMBERSHIP.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—

22 (1) REPRESENTATIVES OF BUSINESS AND IN23 DUSTRY AND ORGANIZED LABOR.—Each State

24 Council shall be comprised of individuals who are
49

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1 appointed by the Governor for a term of not less

2 than 2 years from among—

3 (A) representatives of business and indus4 try, who shall constitute not less than 33 per5 cent of the membership of the State Council,

6 including individuals who are members of local

7 workforce development boards;

8 (B) representatives of organized labor who

9 shall constitute not less than 25 percent of the

10 membership of the State Council and shall be

11 selected from among individuals nominated by

12 recognized State labor federations; and

13 (C) representatives of secondary and post14 secondary academic or vocational education in15 stitutions.

16 (2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—Each State Coun17 cil may include one or more qualified members who

18 are appointed by the Governor from among rep19 resentatives of the following:

20 (A) Community-based organizations.

21 (B) Nongovernmental organizations that

22 have a history of successfully protecting the

23 rights of individuals with disabilities or older

24 persons.
50

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1 (C) Units of general local government or

2 consortia of such units.

3 (D) State officials responsible for admin4 istering programs described in sections 103 and

5 104 and included in the integrated system.

6 (E) The State legislature.

7 (F) Any local program that receives Fed8 eral funding from any program included in the

9 integrated workforce development system of the

10 State.

11 (b) EX OFFICIO.—

12 (1) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Governor may

13 appoint ex officio additional nonvoting members to

14 the State Council.

15 (2) EXPERTISE.—The Governor of the State

16 shall ensure that the State Council and the staff of

17 the State Council have sufficient expertise to effec18 tively carry out the duties and functions of the State

19 Council described under the laws relating to the ap20 plicable program.

21 SEC. 213. CHAIRPERSON.

22 The Governor of the State shall appoint a chairperson

23 of the State Council who shall be a representative of the

24 business community.
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1 SEC. 214. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

2 (a) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY

3 BLUEPRINT.—The State Council shall assist the Governor

4 to prepare and submit to the National Board a biennial

5 report to be known as the State Workforce Development

6 Policy Blueprint (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘State

7 Blueprint’’). The State Blueprint shall—

8 (1) serve as a strategic plan for integrating fed9 erally funded workforce development programs in10 cluded in an integrated system of the State, estab11 lished pursuant to section 203(b), with State-funded

12 job training, employment, employment-related edu13 cation, and economic development activities;

14 (2) summarize and analyze information about

15 training needs of critical industries in the State con16 tained in the local workforce development policy

17 blueprints developed by the workforce development

18 boards;

19 (3) establish State goals for the integrated

20 workforce development system and a common core

21 set of performance measures and standards for pro22 grams included in the system, to be used in lieu of

23 existing performance measures and standards for

24 each of the included programs;

25 (4) analyze how the businesses and labor orga26 nizations of the State are—
52

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1 (A) progressing in the restructuring of the

2 work place to provide continuous learning;

3 (B) improving the skills and abilities of

4 front-line workers of such businesses; and

5 (C) participating in State and local efforts

6 to transform federally funded education and job

7 training programs into a coherent and account8 able workforce development system;

9 (5) utilize information available from the State

10 Report Card and other sources to analyze the rel11 ative effectiveness of individual workforce develop12 ment programs within the State and of the State’s

13 workforce development system as a whole;

14 (6) evaluate the progress being made within the

15 State in streamlining, consolidating, and reforming

16 the workforce development system of the State in ac17 cordance with the purposes contained in section 2(b)

18 and the framework for State implementation con19 tained in the implementation grant proposal of the

20 State;

21 (7) describe how service to special hard-to-serve

22 populations is to be maintained;

23 (8) identify how any funds that a State may be

24 receiving under section 203(b) are to be utilized in

25 conjunction with existing resources to continuously
53

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1 improve the effectiveness of the workforce develop2 ment system of the State;

3 (9) describe the method to be used to allocate

4 funds received under section 203(b) in a fair and eq5 uitable manner among unified service delivery areas;

6 (10) specify the additional elements, if any, to

7 be included in operating agreements between local

8 workforce development boards and one-stop career

9 centers;

10 (11) specify additional criteria, if any, for selec11 tion of one-stop career centers;

12 (12) specify the nonemployment-related out13 come measures that will be used for the workforce

14 development system;

15 (13) specify the nature and scope of the budget

16 authority for local workforce development boards in

17 the State; and

18 (14) supplant federally required planning re19 ports for programs under the integrated workforce

20 development system of the State.

21 (b) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REPORT

22 CARD.—The State Council shall assist the Governor of the

23 State to issue an annual report to be known as the State

24 Workforce Development Report Card (referred to in this

25 Act as the ‘‘State Report Card’’). The State Report Card
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1 shall describe the performance of all workforce develop2 ment programs operating in the State that receive Federal

3 funding and any additional State-funded programs that

4 the Governor may choose to include. The State Report

5 Card shall—

6 (1) include an integrated budget that docu7 ments the annual spending, number of clients

8 served, and types of services provided for workforce

9 development programs for the State as a whole and

10 for each unified service delivery area within the

11 State;

12 (2) assess the level of services to hard-to-serve

13 populations in relation to the number served and

14 outcomes for those populations during the preceding

15 3 years;

16 (3) utilize information available from the qual17 ity assurance system established under section 204

18 to assess—

19 (A) employment and earnings experiences

20 of individuals who have received assistance from

21 each workforce development program operated

22 in the State; and

23 (B) relative employment and earnings ex24 periences of participants receiving services from

25 each one-stop career center in the State;
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1 (4) include an analysis of other

2 nonemployment-related results for each workforce

3 development program operating within the State;

4 and

5 (5) include a report of annual employment

6 trends and earnings (by industry and occupation) in

7 the State and each unified service delivery area, to

8 assist State and local policymakers, training provid9 ers, and users of the system to link the training pro10 vided to the skill and labor force needs of local em11 ployers.

12 (c) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD CERTIFI13 CATION AND EFFECTIVENESS CRITERIA.—Each State

14 Council shall—

15 (1) assist the Governor to certify each local

16 workforce development board; and

17 (2) make recommendations to the Governor for

18 criteria that will be used to judge the effectiveness

19 of each of the workforce development boards of the

20 State.

21 SEC. 215. DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE SYS22 TEMS AND CONSUMER REPORTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The State Council shall develop

24 a quality assurance system to complement and expand

25 upon the quality assurance system established in section
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1 204 in order to provide customers of job training services

2 with consumer reports on the supply, demand, price, and

3 quality of job training services in each unified service de4 livery area in the State.

5 (b) SELECTION OF TOOLS AND MEASURES.—Each

6 State shall select the tools and measures that are appro7 priate to the needs of such State, including—

8 (1) collecting and organizing service provider

9 performance data in accordance with information

10 generated from the State Report Card under section

11 214(b), the financial and management information

12 system designed pursuant to section 218, and the

13 labor market information system of the State de14 scribed in section 501; and

15 (2) conducting surveys as appropriate to ascer16 tain customer satisfaction.

17 (c) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION.—The State

18 Council shall, in conjunction with the local workforce de19 velopment boards, establish mechanisms for collecting and

20 disseminating the quality assurance information on a reg21 ular basis to—

22 (1) individuals seeking employment;

23 (2) employers;

24 (3) policymakers at the Federal, State, and

25 local levels; and
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1 (4) training and education providers.

2 (d) ASSURANCES.—Each public and private edu3 cation, training, and career development service provider

4 receiving Federal funds under a program in an integrated

5 system of the State pursuant to section 203(b) shall col6 lect and provide the quality assurance information re7 quired under this section.

8 SEC. 216. ADMINISTRATION.

9 (a) AUTHORITIES.—Each State Council shall be inde10 pendent of other State workforce development agencies

11 and have the authority to—

12 (1) employ staff; and

13 (2) receive and disburse funds.

14 (b) SPECIAL PROJECTS.—Each State Council may

15 fund and operate special pilot or demonstration projects

16 for purposes of research or continuous improvement of

17 system performance.

18 (c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Not more than

19 5 percent of the funds received by the State from an im20 plementation grant under section 203(b) shall be used for

21 the administration of the State Council.

22 SEC. 217. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFIED SERVICE DELIVERY

23 AREAS.

24 (a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Each State Council shall

25 make recommendations to the Governor of such State for
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1 the establishment of unified service delivery areas that

2 may be used as intrastate geographic boundaries, to the

3 extent practicable, for all workforce development programs

4 in an integrated system of the State pursuant to section

5 203(b).

6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each State receiving an im7 plementation grant under section 203(b) shall, based upon

8 the recommendations of the State Council, and in con9 sultation and cooperation with local communities, estab10 lish unified service delivery areas throughout the State for

11 the purpose of providing community-wide workforce devel12 opment assistance in one-stop career centers under section

13 234.

14 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In establishing unified serv15 ice delivery areas, the Governor, in consultation with the

16 State Council and local communities—

17 (1) shall take into consideration existing—

18 (A) labor market areas;

19 (B) units of general local government;

20 (C) service delivery areas established under

21 section 101 of the Job Training Partnership

22 Act (29 U.S.C. 1511); and

23 (D) the distance traveled by individuals to

24 receive services;
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1 (2) may merge existing service delivery areas;

2 and

3 (3) may not approve a total number of unified

4 service delivery areas that is greater than the total

5 number of service delivery areas in existence in the

6 State on the date of enactment of this Act.

7 SEC. 218. FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

8 SYSTEMS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall use a portion of

10 the funds it receives under section 203(a) to design a uni11 fied financial and management information system. Each

12 State that receives an implementation grant under section

13 203(b) shall require that all programs designated in the

14 integrated system use the unified financial and manage15 ment information system.

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each unified financial and

17 management information system shall—

18 (1) notwithstanding any other provision of Fed19 eral law, supplant federally required fiscal reporting

20 and monitoring for each individual program included

21 in the integrated system;

22 (2) be used by all agencies involved in

23 workforce development activities, including one-stop

24 career centers which shall have the capability to

25 track the overall public investments within the State
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1 and unified service delivery areas, and to inform pol2 icymakers as to the results being achieved through

3 that investment;

4 (3) contain a common structure of financial re5 porting requirements, fiscal systems, and monitoring

6 for all workforce development expenditures included

7 in the integrated system that shall utilize the com8 mon data elements and definitions included in sub9 section (b) of section 204; and

10 (4) support local efforts to establish unified

11 service systems, including intake and eligibility de12 termination for all financial aid sources.

13 SEC. 219. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.

14 From funds made available to a State for implemen15 tation pursuant to section 203(b) or development pursuant

16 to section 203(a), the State shall develop a strategy to

17 enhance the capacity of the institutions, organizations,

18 and staff involved in State and local workforce develop19 ment activities by providing services such as—

20 (1) training for members of the local workforce

21 development boards;

22 (2) training for front-line staff of any local edu23 cation or training service provider or one-stop career

24 center;
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1 (3) technical assistance regarding managing

2 systemic change;

3 (4) customer service training;

4 (5) organization of peer-to-peer network for

5 training, technical assistance, and information shar6 ing;

7 (6) organizing a best practices database cover8 ing the various workforce development system com9 ponents; and

10 (7) training for State and local staff on the

11 principles of quality management and decentralizing

12 decisionmaking.

13 SEC. 220. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR UNIFIED SERV14 ICE DELIVERY AREAS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of each State that

16 implements an integrated workforce development system

17 under section 203(b) may, in consultation with the State

18 Council, the local workforce development boards in the

19 State, and employees of any of the job training programs

20 included in the integrated system or the employee organi21 zations of such employees, make adjustments to existing

22 performance standards for programs in such system in the

23 unified service delivery area of the State.

24 (b) CRITERIA.—Criteria developed pursuant to sub25 section (a) may include such factors as—
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1 (1) placement, retention, and earnings of par2 ticipants in unsubsidized employment, including—

3 (A) earnings at 1, 2, and 4 quarters after

4 termination from the program; and

5 (B) comparability of wages 1 year after

6 termination from the program with wages prior

7 to participation in the program;

8 (2) acquisition of skills pursuant to a skill

9 standards and skill certification system endorsed by

10 the National Skill Standards Board established pur11 suant to section 503 of the National Skill Standards

12 Act of 1994;

13 (3) the satisfaction of participants and employ14 ers with services provided and employment out15 comes; and

16 (4) the quality of services provided and the level

17 of services provided to hard-to-serve populations,

18 such as low-income individuals and older workers.

19 (c) ADJUSTMENTS.—Each Governor of a State that

20 implements an integrated workforce development system

21 under section 203(b) shall, within parameters established

22 by the National Board, and after consultation with the

23 workforce development boards in the State, prescribe ad24 justments to the performance criteria prescribed under
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1 subsections (a) and (b) for the unified service delivery

2 areas based on—

3 (1) specific economic, geographic, and demo4 graphic factors in the State and in regions within

5 the State; and

6 (2) the characteristics of the population to be

7 served, including the demonstrated difficulties in

8 serving special populations.

9 (d) USE OF CRITERIA.—The performance criteria de10 veloped pursuant to this section shall be utilized in lieu

11 of similar criteria for programs receiving Federal funding

12 included in the integrated system of the State, to the ex13 tent determined by the State Council subject to the ap14 proval of the National Board.

15 Subtitle C—Local Level Activities

16 SEC. 231. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In each State receiving an

18 implementation grant under section 203(b), and subject

19 to subsection (b) of this section, the local elected officials

20 of each unified service delivery area shall establish a

21 workforce development board to administer the workforce

22 development assistance provided by all the programs in

23 the integrated workforce development system in such area.
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1 (b) EXCEPTION.—States with a single unified deliv2 ery area with contiguous borders shall not be subject to

3 the requirement of subsection (a).

4 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each workforce development

6 board shall be comprised of—

7 (A) representatives of business and indus8 try, who shall constitute a majority of the board

9 and who shall be business leaders in the unified

10 service delivery area;

11 (B)(i) representatives of State and local

12 organized labor organizations, who shall be se13 lected from among individuals nominated by

14 recognized State labor federations; and

15 (ii) representatives of community-based or16 ganizations, who shall be selected from among

17 those individuals nominated by officers of such

18 organizations;

19 (C) representatives of educational institu20 tions;

21 (D) community leaders, such as leaders

22 of—

23 (i) economic development agencies;

24 (ii) human service agencies and insti25 tutions;
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1 (iii) veterans organizations; and

2 (iv) entities providing job training;

3 (E) representatives of nongovernmental or4 ganizations that have a history of successfully

5 protecting the rights of individuals with disabil6 ities or older persons; and

7 (F) a local elected official, who shall be a

8 nonvoting member.

9 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—The representatives de10 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) shall comprise not less

11 than 33 percent of the membership of the Board.

12 (d) NOMINATIONS.—

13 (1) BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REPRESENTA14 TIVES.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The representatives of

16 business and industry under paragraph (1) of

17 subsection (c) shall be selected by local elected

18 officials from among individuals nominated by

19 general purpose business organizations after

20 consultation with, and receiving recommenda21 tions from, other business organizations in the

22 unified service delivery area.

23 (B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this

24 paragraph, the term ‘‘general purpose business

25 organization’’ means an organization that ad-
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1 mits to membership any for-profit business op2 erating within the unified service delivery area.

3 (2) LABOR REPRESENTATIVES.—The represent4 atives of organized labor under subsection

5 (c)(1)(B)(i) shall be selected from among individuals

6 recommended by recognized State and local labor

7 federations.

8 (3) OTHER MEMBERS.—The members of the

9 workforce development board described in subpara10 graphs (A), (D), and (E) of subsection (c)(1) shall

11 be selected by chief local elected officials in accord12 ance with subsection (e) from individuals rec13 ommended by interested organizations.

14 (4) EXPERTISE.—The State Council and Gov15 ernor of each State shall ensure that the workforce

16 development board and the staff of the State Council

17 have sufficient expertise to effectively carry out the

18 duties and functions of existing local boards de19 scribed under the laws relating to the applicable pro20 gram.

21 (e) APPOINTMENT PROCESS.—In the case of a uni22 fied service delivery area—

23 (1) in which there is one unit of general local

24 government, the chief elected official of such unit

25 shall determine the number of members to serve on
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1 the workforce development board and appoint the

2 members to such board from the individuals nomi3 nated or recommended under subsection (d); and

4 (2) in which there are 2 or more units of gen5 eral local government, the chief elected officials of

6 such units shall determine the number of members

7 to serve on the workforce development board and ap8 point the members to such board from the individ9 uals nominated or recommended under subsection

10 (d), in accordance with an agreement entered into by

11 such units of general local government or, in the ab12 sence of such an agreement, by the Governor of the

13 State in which the unified service delivery area is lo14 cated.

15 (f) TERMS.—Each workforce development board shall

16 establish, in its bylaws, terms to be served by its members,

17 who may serve until the successors of such members are

18 appointed.

19 (g) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on a workforce devel20 opment board shall be filled in the same manner as the

21 original appointment was made.

22 (h) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—Any member of a

23 workforce development board may be removed for cause

24 in accordance with procedures established by the

25 workforce development board.
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1 (i) CHAIRPERSON.—Each workforce development

2 board shall select a chairperson, by a majority vote of the

3 members of the board, from among the members of the

4 workforce development board who are from business or in5 dustry. The term of the chairperson shall be determined

6 by the board.

7 (j) DUTIES.—Each workforce development board—

8 (1) shall—

9 (A) prepare a workforce development board

10 policy blueprint in accordance with section 232;

11 (B) issue an annual unified service delivery

12 area report card in accordance with section

13 233;

14 (C) review and comment on the local plans

15 for all programs included in the integrated

16 workforce development system of the State and

17 operating within the unified service delivery

18 area, prior to the submission of such plans to

19 the appropriate State Council, or the relevant

20 Federal agency, if no State approval is re21 quired;

22 (D) oversee the operations of the one-stop

23 career center established in the unified service

24 delivery area under section 234, including the

25 responsibility to—
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1 (i) designate one-stop career center

2 operators within the unified service deliv3 ery area consistent with selection criteria

4 specified in section 214(a)(11);

5 (ii) develop and approve the budgets

6 and annual operating plans of the one-stop

7 career centers;

8 (iii) establish annual performance

9 standards, customer service quality cri10 teria, and outcome measures for the one11 stop career centers, consistent with meas12 ures developed pursuant to sections 220;

13 (iv) assess the results of programs

14 and services;

15 (v) ensure that services and skills pro16 vided through the centers are of high qual17 ity and are relevant to labor market de18 mands; and

19 (vi) determine priorities for client

20 services from Federal funding sources in

21 the system;

22 (E) develop a strategy to disseminate

23 consumer reports produced under section 215

24 to workers, jobseekers, and employers, and
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1 other individuals in the unified service delivery

2 area; and

3 (2) may apply to the Secretary for a matching

4 grant pursuant to section 404 in the amount of 50

5 percent of the cost of establishing innovative models

6 of workplace training and upgrading of incumbent

7 workers.

8 (k) ADMINISTRATION.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local workforce devel10 opment board shall have the authority to receive and

11 disburse funds made available for carrying out the

12 provisions of this Act and shall employ its own staff,

13 independent of local programs and service providers.

14 (2) FUNDING.—Each workforce development

15 board shall receive a portion of its funding from the

16 implementation grant of the State, with additional

17 funds made available from participating programs.

18 (l) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No member of a

19 workforce development board shall cast a vote on the pro20 vision of services by that member (or any organization

21 which that member directly represents) or vote on any

22 matter that would provide direct financial benefit to such

23 member.
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1 SEC. 232. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD POLICY

2 BLUEPRINT.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each workforce development

4 board shall prepare and submit to the State Council a bi5 ennial report, to be known as the workforce development

6 board policy blueprint, except that in States with a single

7 unified service delivery area, the additional elements re8 quired in the regional blueprint shall be incorporated into

9 the State Blueprint.

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The workforce development

11 board policy blueprint shall—

12 (1) include a list of the key industries and in13 dustry clusters of small- to mid-size firms that are

14 most critical to the current and future economic

15 competitiveness of unified service delivery area;

16 (2) identify the workforce development needs of

17 the critical industries and industry clusters;

18 (3) summarize the capacity of local education

19 and training providers to respond to the workforce

20 development needs;

21 (4) indicate how the local workforce develop22 ment programs intend to strategically deploy re23 sources available from implementation grants and

24 existing programs operating in the unified service

25 delivery area to better meet the workforce develop26 ment needs of critical industries and industry clus-
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1 ters in the unified service delivery area and enhance

2 program performance;

3 (5) include a plan to develop one-stop career

4 centers, as described in section 234, including an es5 timate of the costs in personnel and other resources

6 to develop a network adequate to provide universal

7 access to such centers in the local labor market;

8 (6) describe how services will be maintained to

9 all groups served by the participating programs in

10 accordance with their legislative intent, including

11 hard-to-serve populations;

12 (7) identify actions for building the capacity of

13 the workforce development system in the unified

14 service delivery area; and

15 (8) report on the level and recent changes in

16 earned income of workers in the local labor market,

17 in relation to State and national levels, by occupa18 tion and industry.

19 (c) USE IN OTHER REPORTS.—The workforce devel20 opment board policy blueprint may be utilized in lieu of

21 local planning reports required by any other Federal law

22 for any program included in the integrated workforce de23 velopment system, subject to the approval of the State

24 Council.
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1 SEC. 233. REPORT CARD.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each workforce development

3 board shall annually prepare and submit to the State

4 Council a unified service delivery area report card in ac5 cordance with this section. The report card shall describe

6 the performance of all workforce development programs

7 and service providers, including the one-stop career cen8 ters, operating in the area that is included in the inte9 grated workforce development system. In States with a

10 single unified service delivery area, the State Council shall

11 prepare the report card.

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The report card shall—

13 (1) report on the relationship between services

14 provided and the local labor market needs as de15 scribed in the workforce development board policy

16 blueprint;

17 (2) using the quality assurance system informa18 tion established pursuant to section 215, include an

19 analysis of employment-related, and other outcomes

20 achieved by the programs and service providers oper21 ating in the area;

22 (3) identify the performance of the one-stop ca23 reer centers;

24 (4) detail the economic and demographic char25 acteristics of individuals served compared to the

26 characteristics of the general population of the uni-
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1 fied service delivery area, and the jobseekers, work2 ers, and businesses of such area; and

3 (5) assess the level of services to hard-to-serve

4 populations in relation to the number served and the

5 outcomes for those during the preceding 3 years.

6 SEC. 234. ONE-STOP CAREER CENTERS.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each workforce development

8 board receiving funds under an implementation grant

9 awarded under section 203(b) shall develop and implement

10 a network of one-stop career centers in the unified service

11 delivery area of the workforce development board. The

12 one-stop career centers shall provide jobseekers, workers,

13 and businesses universal access to a comprehensive array

14 of quality employment, education, and training services.

15 (b) PROCEDURES.—Each workforce development

16 board shall, in conjunction with local elected official or of17 ficials in the unified service delivery area, and consistent

18 with criteria specified in section 214(a)(11), select a meth19 od for establishing one-stop career centers.

20 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Each entity within the uni21 fied service delivery area that performs the functions spec22 ified in subsections (e) and (f) for any of the programs

23 in the integrated workforce development system shall be

24 eligible to be selected as a one-stop career center.
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1 (d) PERIOD OF SELECTION.—Each one-stop career

2 center operator shall be designated for two-year periods.

3 Every 2 years, one-stop career center designations shall

4 be reevaluated by the workforce development board based

5 on performance indicated in the unified service delivery

6 area report card and other criteria established by the

7 workforce development board and the State Council.

8 (e) BROKERAGE SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS.—Each

9 one-stop career center shall make available to the public,

10 at no cost—

11 (1) outreach to make individuals aware of, and

12 encourage the use of, services available from

13 workforce development programs operating in the

14 unified service delivery area;

15 (2) intake and orientation to the information

16 and services available through the one-stop career

17 center;

18 (3) preliminary assessments of the skill levels

19 (including appropriate testing) and service needs of

20 individuals, including—

21 (A) basic skills;

22 (B) occupational skills;

23 (C) prior work experience;

24 (D) employability;

25 (E) interests;
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1 (F) aptitude; and

2 (G) supportive service needs;

3 (4) job search assistance, including resume and

4 interview preparation and workshops;

5 (5) information relating to the supply, demand,

6 price, and quality of job training services available

7 in each unified service delivery area in the State

8 pursuant to section 501(c);

9 (6) information relating to eligibility require10 ments and sources of financial assistance for enter11 ing the programs described in 501(c)(2)(C); and

12 (7) referral to appropriate job training, employ13 ment, and employment-related education or support

14 services in the unified service delivery area.

15 (f) BROKERAGE SERVICES TO EMPLOYERS.—Each

16 one-stop career center shall provide to each requesting em17 ployer—

18 (1) information relating to supply, demand,

19 price, and quality of job training services available

20 in each unified service delivery area in the State,

21 consistent with the consumer reports described in

22 section 215;

23 (2) customized screening and referral of individ24 uals for employment;
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1 (3) customized assessment of skills of the cur2 rent workers of the employer;

3 (4) an analysis of the skill needs of the em4 ployer; and

5 (5) other specialized employment and training

6 services.

7 (g) CONFLICTS.—Any entity that performs one-stop

8 career center functions shall be prohibited from making

9 an education and training referral to itself.

10 (h) FEES.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), each one-stop career center may charge

13 fees for the services described in subsection (f), sub14 ject to approval by the workforce development board.

15 (2) LIMITATION.—No fee may be charged for

16 any service that an individual would be eligible to re17 ceive at no cost under a participating program.

18 (3) INCOME.—Income received by a one-stop

19 career center from the fees collected shall be used by

20 the workforce development board to expand or en21 hance one-stop career centers available within the

22 unified service delivery area.

23 (i) CORE DATA ELEMENTS AND COMMON DEFINI24 TIONS.—Each one-stop career center shall adopt the core
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1 data elements and common definitions as specified in sec2 tion 204(b), and updated by the National Board.

3 (j) OPERATING AGREEMENTS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each one-stop career center

5 operator shall enter into a written agreement with

6 the workforce development board concerning the op7 eration of the center.

8 (2) APPROVAL.—The agreement shall—

9 (A) be subject to the approval of—

10 (i) the local chief elected official or of11 ficials;

12 (ii) the State Council; and

13 (iii) the Governor of the State in

14 which the center is located; and

15 (B) shall address—

16 (i) the services to be provided;

17 (ii) the role that local officials of the

18 United States Employment Service will

19 play in the operation of one stop career

20 centers in the unified service delivery area;

21 (iii) the financial and nonfinancial

22 contributions to be made to the centers

23 from funds made available pursuant to sec24 tion 203(b) and all participating workforce

25 development programs;
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1 (iv) methods of administration;

2 (v) procedures to be used to ensure

3 compliance with statutory requirements of

4 the programs in the integrated workforce

5 development system; and

6 (vi) other elements, as required by the

7 workforce development board or the State

8 Council under section 214(a).

9 SEC. 235. CAPACITY BUILDING.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each workforce development

11 board shall identify actions to be taken for building the

12 capacity of the workforce development system in such uni13 fied service delivery, except that in States with a single

14 unified delivery area, the State Council shall be respon15 sible for carrying out the activities under this section.

16 (b) FUNDING.—The State Council shall make funds

17 available to each workforce development board for capacity

18 building activities from funds made available under section

19 203(b) and any other funds within the integrated

20 workforce development budget of the State. For the activi21 ties described in subsection (c), the workforce development

22 board may also submit requests to the State Council to

23 redirect a portion of training and technical assistance re24 sources available from any of the workforce development

25 programs included in the integrated system within the uni-
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1 fied service development area of the workforce develop2 ment board.

3 (c) TYPES OF ACTIVITIES.—Capacity building activi4 ties may include—

5 (1) training of workforce development board

6 members;

7 (2) staff training;

8 (3) technical assistance regarding managing

9 systemic change;

10 (4) customer service training;

11 (5) organization of a peer-to-peer network for

12 training, technical assistance, and information shar13 ing;

14 (6) organizing a best practices database cover15 ing the various system activities; and

16 (7) training for local staff on the principles of

17 quality management and decentralized decisionmak18 ing.

19 TITLE III—ENHANCING INDIVID20 UAL CHOICE THROUGH

21 TRAINING ACCOUNTS

22 SEC. 301. PURPOSE.

23 It is the purpose of this title to promote the establish24 ment of a market-driven system for the provision of serv25 ices that will enhance the quality and range of choices
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1 available to individuals for obtaining appropriate edu2 cation and training.

3 SEC. 302. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving an imple5 mentation grant pursuant to section 203(b) shall establish

6 a training account system for the provision of education

7 and training that meets the requirements of this title.

8 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this title, the term

9 ‘‘education and training’’ means the services described in

10 clauses (v) and (ix) of section 204(b)(1)(C) and such other

11 services as the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec12 retary of Education, the Secretary of Health and Human

13 Services, and the National Board, determines are appro14 priate.

15 SEC. 303. PARTICIPATION OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

16 PROGRAMS.

17 (a) DISLOCATED WORKERS.—Notwithstanding the

18 Job Training Partnership Act, each State that receives an

19 implementation grant pursuant to section 203(b) shall use

20 the funds made available under title III of the Job Train21 ing Partnership Act and the funds appropriated under sec22 tion 3(a) to provide education and training under title III

23 of such Act only through the training account system es24 tablished pursuant to this title. Notwithstanding section

25 315 of such Act, not less than 60 percent of the funds
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1 available to the State under such title III shall be used

2 to carry out the training account system.

3 (b) ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS.—Beginning 1 year or

4 later after a State has commenced administration of the

5 training account system described in subsection (a), the

6 State may provide education and training through the

7 training account system to adults eligible to participate

8 in other workforce development programs if—

9 (1) the State—

10 (A) identifies the additional workforce de11 velopment programs in the State blueprint de12 veloped pursuant to section 214(a) or in an

13 amendment to such blueprint; and

14 (B) describes how such programs will be

15 integrated into such system; and

16 (2) not less than two-thirds of the voting mem17 bers of the National Workforce Development Board

18 approves the inclusion of the programs identified

19 pursuant to paragraph (1) into the training account

20 system established in the State.

21 SEC. 304. ADMINISTRATION.

22 (a) APPLICATION TO ESTABLISH ACCOUNT.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who is eligible

24 to receive education and training under a workforce

25 development program participating in the training
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1 account system pursuant to this title may apply to

2 establish a training account only at a one-stop ca3 reer center established under section 234.

4 (2) DUTIES OF CAREER CENTERS.—The career

5 center shall—

6 (A) assist such individual in completing the

7 application;

8 (B) provide information relating to the op9 eration of the training account system; and

10 (C) ensure that such individual is aware of

11 consumer information available in the center re12 lating to providers of education and training,

13 local occupations in demand, and other appro14 priate labor market factors.

15 (b) DURATION; AMOUNT OF ACCOUNT.—

16 (1) DURATION.—Upon approval of an applica17 tion submitted pursuant to subsection (a), an indi18 vidual may be provided a training account for a

19 maximum of 2 years within any 5-year period.

20 (2) AMOUNT OF ACCOUNT.—The total amount

21 deposited into a training account for an individual

22 for any fiscal year shall be equal to the greater of

23 the maximum amount of a Pell grant established—
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1 (A) pursuant to paragraphs (2)(A) and

2 (3)(A) of section 401(b) of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 for such year; or

4 (B) by an appropriation Act for such year.

5 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An account established under

6 subsection (b) may be used by an individual to pay for

7 education and training provided by a service provider

8 meeting the eligibility requirements described in section

9 305.

10 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—Not later than

11 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education,

13 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall

14 issue regulations applicable to the administration of a

15 training account under this title that, consistent with the

16 other provisions of this title, specify—

17 (1) the application requirements relating to a

18 training account;

19 (2) the method of payment to providers from a

20 training account, including appropriate payment

21 schedules and appropriate payment for education or

22 training in which an individual enrolled but did not

23 complete;
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1 (3) the financial and management information

2 systems to be used to administer the training ac3 counts;

4 (4) the Federal, State, and local roles with re5 spect to oversight of the training account system

6 and enforcement of the requirements of this title;

7 (5) the manner in which the costs of admin8 istering the training account system will be deter9 mined and apportioned;

10 (6) the performance-based information to be

11 submitted by eligible providers of education and

12 training and procedures for verifying the accuracy of

13 such information; and

14 (7) such other procedures or conditions the Sec15 retary determines are necessary to ensure the effec16 tive implementation of the training account system.

17 (e) DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM IN STATE BLUE18 PRINT.—The State blueprint developed pursuant to sec19 tion 214(a) shall include a description of how the State

20 will administer the training account system and will en21 sure compliance with the requirements of this title.

22 SEC. 305. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROVIDERS OF

23 EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICES.

24 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—A provider of

25 education and training services shall be eligible to receive
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1 funds from a training account under this title if such pro2 vider—

3 (1) is either—

4 (A) eligible to participate in programs

5 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of

6 1965; or

7 (B) determined to be eligible under the

8 procedures described in subsection (b); and

9 (2) uses the common definitions and perform10 ance-based information described in section 204(b).

11 (b) ALTERNATIVE ELIGIBILITY PROCEDURE.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of each State

13 receiving an implementation grant pursuant to sec14 tion 203(b) shall establish an alternative eligibility

15 procedure for providers of education and training

16 services in such State that desire to receive funds

17 from a training account under this title, but are not

18 eligible to participate in programs under title IV of

19 the Higher Education Act of 1965. Such procedure

20 shall establish minimum acceptable levels of per21 formance for such providers based on factors and

22 guidelines developed by the Secretary, after con23 sultation with the Secretary of Education. Such fac24 tors shall be comparable in rigor and scope to those

25 provisions of part H of such title of such Act that
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1 are used to determine an institution of higher edu2 cation’s eligibility to participate in programs under

3 such title as are appropriate to the type of provider

4 seeking eligibility under this subsection and the na5 ture of the education and training services to be pro6 vided.

7 (2) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

8 (1), if the participation of an institution of higher

9 education in any of the programs under title IV of

10 the Higher Education Act of 1965 is terminated,

11 such institution shall not be eligible to receive funds

12 under this Act for a period of 2 years beginning on

13 the date of such termination.

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—

15 (1) STATE AGENCY.—Upon the recommenda16 tion of the State Council, the Governor of each State

17 receiving an implementation grant pursuant to sec18 tion 203(b) shall designate a State agency or agen19 cies to collect, verify, and disseminate the perform20 ance-based information submitted by eligible provid21 ers.

22 (2) APPLICATION.—A provider of education and

23 training services that desires to be eligible to receive

24 funds under this title shall submit to the State agen25 cy or agencies the information required under para-
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1 graph (1) at such time and in such form as such

2 State agency or agencies may require.

3 (3) LIST OF ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—The State

4 agency or agencies shall compile a list of eligible pro5 viders, accompanied by the performance-based infor6 mation submitted, and disseminate such list and in7 formation to the one-stop career centers in the

8 State.

9 SEC. 306. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

10 The National Workforce Development Board shall

11 evaluate the administration and effectiveness of the train12 ing account system in enhancing individual choice and

13 promoting high-quality education and training and shall

14 include the evaluation, accompanied by recommendations,

15 in the National Report Card developed pursuant to section

16 202(c)(1) and the joint resolution to the President and

17 the Congress pursuant to section 104(b).

18 SEC. 307. REPORT RELATING TO INCOME SUPPORT.

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con20 gress that—

21 (1) many dislocated workers and economically

22 disadvantaged adults are unable to enroll in long23 term job training because such workers and adults

24 lack income support after unemployment compensa25 tion is exhausted;
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1 (2) evidence suggests that long-term job train2 ing is among the most effective adjustment service

3 in assisting dislocated workers and economically dis4 advantaged adults to obtain employment and en5 hance wages; and

6 (3) there is a need to identify options relating

7 to how income support may be provided to enable

8 dislocated workers and economically disadvantaged

9 adults to participate in long-term job training.

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall sub12 mit to the Congress a report that—

13 (1) examines the need for income support to en14 able dislocated workers and economically disadvan15 taged adults to participate in long-term job training;

16 (2) identifies options relating to how income

17 support can be provided to such workers and adults;

18 and

19 (3) contains such recommendations as the Sec20 retary of Labor determines are appropriate.

21 TITLE IV—PRIVATE-PUBLIC

22 LINKAGES

23 SEC. 401. PURPOSE.

24 The purpose of this title is to begin to more explicitly

25 link federally funded workforce development programs
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1 with training practices and systems utilized by workers

2 and firms in the private sector.

3 SEC. 402. INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE WORKER TRAINING.

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

5 of this Act, the National Board shall make recommenda6 tions to the appropriate committees of Congress and the

7 President on what measures can be taken, including

8 changes in the tax codes—

9 (1) to encourage employers and workers to in10 vest in training and skills upgrading;

11 (2) to encourage employers to hire and train

12 hard-to-serve individuals; and

13 (3) to provide income support to enable job14 seekers and workers to participate in long-term

15 training programs.

16 SEC. 403. LABOR DAY REPORT ON PRIVATE-PUBLIC TRAIN17 ING PRACTICES.

18 Beginning on September 1, 1996, and in each suc19 ceeding year thereafter, the National Board shall issue a

20 report that—

21 (1) analyzes how businesses in the United

22 States are—

23 (A) restructuring the workplace to provide

24 continuous learning for the employees of such

25 businesses;
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1 (B) improving the skills and abilities of the

2 front-line workers of such businesses; and

3 (C) integrating public workforce develop4 ment programs into private sector training sys5 tems;

6 (2) highlights innovative approaches that other

7 countries are taking to encourage firms to invest in

8 training the front-line workers of such firms and to

9 ensure that publicly funded workforce development

10 programs in such countries are relevant to the train11 ing needs of workers and firms in the private sector;

12 (3) reports on the progress being made by the

13 National Skills Standards Board established pursu14 ant to section 503 of the National Skill Standards

15 Act and the degree to which publicly funded edu16 cation and training providers throughout the United

17 States are incorporating industry-based skill stand18 ards developed by the Board into program offerings

19 of such programs; and

20 (4) makes recommendations to Congress and

21 the President on ways to improve linkages between

22 federally funded industrial modernization programs

23 and federally funded workforce development pro24 grams.
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1 SEC. 404. MATCHING GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE INCUMBENT

2 WORKER TRAINING.

3 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es4 tablish a program to award competitive matching grants

5 to assist local workforce development boards respond to

6 the training needs of front-line workers in the commu7 nities in which such boards are located.

8 (b) APPLICATION.—Each local workforce develop9 ment board seeking a grant under this section shall submit

10 an application to the State Council of the State in which

11 such board is located, at such time, in such manner, and

12 containing such information as the Secretary may pre13 scribe. Not later than 30 days after receiving an applica14 tion, the State Council shall review and forward the appli15 cation, with comments, to the National Board and the

16 Secretary.

17 (c) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the ad19 vice of the National Board, shall award a grant

20 under this section only if the Secretary determines,

21 from the grant application, that the grant will be

22 used to maintain or enhance the competitive position

23 of local industries that are committed to making the

24 investments necessary to develop the skills of their

25 workers.
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1 (2) CRITERIA.—In awarding grants under this

2 section, the Secretary shall take into account—

3 (A) the policy priorities and training needs

4 of local industries identified in the local

5 workforce development policy blueprints;

6 (B) whether there is a demonstrated need

7 for skill upgrading to maintain firm or industry

8 competitiveness;

9 (C) whether the application contains pro10 posals for training that will directly lead to in11 creased earnings of front-line workers;

12 (D) whether the labor organizations rep13 resenting such front-line workers support the

14 grant proposal;

15 (E) initiatives by firms or firm partner16 ships to develop high performance work organi17 zations;

18 (F) whether the grant proposal meets the

19 training needs of small- and medium-sized

20 firms;

21 (G) whether the grant proposal is focused

22 on workers with substantial firm or industry

23 tenure; and

24 (H) whether the proposed industry activi25 ties are integrated with private sector activities
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1 under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of

2 1994.

3 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this sec4 tion shall be used for skill enhancement and training ac5 tivities that may include—

6 (1) basic skills;

7 (2) occupational skills;

8 (3) statistical process control training;

9 (4) total quality management techniques;

10 (5) team building and problem solving skills;

11 and

12 (6) other training or activities that will result in

13 the increased likelihood of job retention, higher

14 wages, or increased firm competitiveness.

15 (e) FUNDING.—

16 (1) COST SHARE.—

17 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—A grant awarded

18 under this section shall be in an amount equal

19 to 50 percent of the cost of carrying out the

20 grant proposal.

21 (B) LOCAL SHARE.—As a condition to re22 ceiving Federal funds under this section, local

23 businesses, industry associations, and worker

24 organizations shall provide funding in an
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1 amount equal to 50 percent of the cost of carry2 ing out the grant proposal.

3 (2) LIMITATIONS.—

4 (A) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts awarded

5 under this section shall not be used to pay the

6 wages of workers during the training of such

7 workers.

8 (B) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—Each recipi9 ent of funds under this section shall certify that

10 such funds shall supplement and not supplant

11 other public or private funds otherwise spent on

12 worker training.

13 TITLE V—INTEGRATED LABOR

14 MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEM

15 SEC. 501. INTEGRATED LABOR MARKET INFORMATION.

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that accurate,

17 timely, and relevant data for the Nation, States, and local18 ities are required to achieve Federal domestic policy goals,

19 such as—

20 (1) economic growth and productivity

21 through—

22 (A) career planning and successful job

23 training and job searching by youth and adults;

24 and
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1 (B) efficient hiring, effective worker train2 ing, and appropriate location and organization

3 of work by employers;

4 (2) accountability, through planning and eval5 uation, in workforce development and job placement

6 programs funded by the Federal Government or de7 veloped by other public or private entities;

8 (3) equity and efficiency in the allocation of

9 Federal funds; and

10 (4) greater understanding of local labor market

11 dynamics through the support of research.

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to provide

13 for the development, maintenance, and continuous im14 provement of a nationwide integrated system for the col15 lection, analysis, and dissemination of labor market infor16 mation.

17 (c) SYSTEM.—

18 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary, in co19 operation with the National Board, the State Coun20 cils, where appropriate, and the Governors, shall

21 oversee and ensure the development, maintenance,

22 and continuous improvement of a nationwide inte23 grated system of labor market information that

24 will—
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1 (A) promote comprehensive workforce de2 velopment planning, evaluation, and service in3 tegration;

4 (B) meet and be responsive to the cus5 tomer needs of jobseekers, employers, and pub6 lic officials at all government levels who develop

7 economic and social policy, allocate funds, plan

8 and implement workforce development systems,

9 are involved in career planning or exploration,

10 and deliver integrated services;

11 (C) serve as the foundation for automated

12 information delivery systems that provide easy

13 access to labor market, occupational and career

14 information; and

15 (D) meet the Federal domestic policy goals

16 specified in section (a).

17 (2) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.—The inte18 grated system described in paragraph (1) shall in19 clude statistical data from survey and projection

20 programs and data from administrative reporting

21 systems which, taken together, shall enumerate, esti22 mate, and project the supply of and demand for

23 labor at national, State, and local levels in a timely

24 manner, including data on—

25 (A) labor market demand, such as—
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1 (i) profiles of occupations that de2 scribe job duties, education, and training

3 requirements, skills, wages, benefits, work4 ing conditions, and the industrial distribu5 tion of occupations;

6 (ii) current and projected employment

7 opportunities and trends, by industry and

8 occupation, including growth projections by

9 industry, and growth and replacement need

10 projections by occupation;

11 (iii) job openings, job locations, hiring

12 requirements, and application procedures;

13 (iv) profiles of industries and employ14 ers in the local labor market describing the

15 nature of the work performed, employment

16 skill and experience requirements, specific

17 occupations, wages, hours, and benefits,

18 and hiring patterns;

19 (v) industries, occupations, and geo20 graphic locations facing significant change

21 or dislocation; and

22 (vi) information maintained in a longi23 tudinal manner on the quarterly earnings,

24 establishment, industry affiliation, and ge25 ographic location of employment for all in-
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1 dividuals for whom such information is col2 lected by the States;

3 (B) labor supply, such as—

4 (i) educational attainment, training,

5 skills, skill levels, and occupations of the

6 population;

7 (ii) demographic, socioeconomic char8 acteristics, and current employment status

9 of the population, including self-employed,

10 part-time, and seasonal workers;

11 (iii) jobseekers, including their edu12 cation and training, skills, skill levels, em13 ployment experience, and employment

14 goals;

15 (iv) the number of workers displaced

16 by permanent layoffs and plant closings by

17 industry, occupation, and geographic loca18 tion; and

19 (v) current and projected training

20 completers who have acquired specific oc21 cupational or work skills and competencies;

22 and

23 (C) consumer information, which shall be

24 current, comprehensive, localized, automated,

25 and in a form useful for immediate employ-
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1 ment, entry into training and education pro2 grams, and career exploration, including—

3 (i) job openings, locations, hiring re4 quirements, application procedures, and

5 profiles of employers in the local labor

6 market describing the nature of the work

7 performed, employment requirements,

8 wages, benefits, and hiring patterns;

9 (ii) jobseekers, including their edu10 cation and training, skills, skill levels, em11 ployment experience, and employment

12 goals;

13 (iii) the labor market experiences, in

14 terms of wages and annual earnings, by in15 dustry and occupation, of workers in local

16 labor markets, by sex and racial or ethnic

17 group, including information on hard-to18 serve populations;

19 (iv) education courses, training pro20 grams, and job placement programs, in21 cluding information derived from statis22 tically based performance evaluations and

23 their user satisfaction ratings; and

24 (v) eligibility for funding and other

25 assistance in job training, job search, in-
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1 come support, supportive services, and

2 other employment services.

3 (3) TECHNICAL STANDARDS.—The integrated

4 labor market information system shall use common

5 standards that will include—

6 (A) standard classification and coding sys7 tems for industries, occupations, skills, pro8 grams, and courses;

9 (B) nationally standardized definitions of

10 terms consistent with subsections (b), (c), and

11 (d) of section 204 and with paragraph (2);

12 (C) a common system for designating geo13 graphic areas consistent with the unified service

14 delivery areas;

15 (D) data standards and quality control

16 mechanisms; and

17 (E) common schedules for data collection

18 and dissemination.

19 (4) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—Data

20 generated by the labor market information system

21 including information on quarterly employment and

22 earnings, together with matched data on individuals

23 who have participated in a federally supported job

24 training activity, shall be made available to the Na25 tional Board for use in the preparation of the Na-
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1 tional Report Card. Aggregate level information

2 shall be made available to consumers in automated

3 information delivery systems.

4 (5) DISSEMINATION, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE,

5 AND RESEARCH.—The Secretary, in cooperation with

6 the National Board, the Governors, and State Coun7 cils, where appropriate, shall oversee the develop8 ment, maintenance, and continuous improvement

9 of—

10 (A) dissemination mechanisms for data

11 and analysis, including mechanisms that may

12 be standardized among the States;

13 (B) programs of technical assistance and

14 staff development for States and localities, in15 cluding assistance in adopting and utilizing

16 automated systems and improving the access,

17 through electronic and other means, to labor

18 market information; and

19 (C) programs of research and demonstra20 tion, on ways to improve the products and proc21 esses authorized by this section.

22 SEC. 502. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE NATIONAL BOARD.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Board shall plan,

24 review, and evaluate the Nation’s integrated labor market

25 information system.
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1 (b) DUTIES.—The National Board shall—

2 (1) be responsible for providing policy guidance;

3 (2) evaluate the integrated labor market infor4 mation system and ensure the cooperation of partici5 pating agencies; and

6 (3) recommend to the Secretary needed im7 provements in Federal, State, and local information

8 systems to support the development of an integrated

9 labor market information system.

10 SEC. 503. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage the

12 investment in an integrated labor market information sys13 tem by—

14 (1) reviewing all requirements for labor market

15 information across all programs within the system;

16 (2) developing a comprehensive annual budget,

17 including funds at the Federal level, funds allotted

18 to States by formula, and funds supplied to the

19 States by contracts with departmental entities;

20 (3) administering grants allotted to States by

21 formula;

22 (4) negotiating and executing contracts with the

23 States;

24 (5) coordinating the activities of Federal

25 workforce development agencies responsible for col-
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1 lecting the statistics and program administrative

2 data that comprise the integrated system and dis3 seminating labor market information at the Na4 tional, State, regional, and local levels; and

5 (6) ensuring that standards are designed to

6 meet the requirements of chapter 35 of title 44,

7 United States Code, and are coordinated and con8 sistent with other appropriate Federal standards es9 tablished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and

10 other statistical agencies.

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the duties of

12 the Secretary under this section, the Secretary shall—

13 (1) in consultation with the States and the pri14 vate sector, define a common core set of labor mar15 ket information data elements as specified in section

16 501(c)(2) that will be consistently available across

17 States in an integrated labor market information

18 system; and

19 (2) ensure that data is sufficiently timely and

20 locally detailed for use, including uses specified in

21 subsections (b) and (c)(2) of section 501.

22 (c) ANNUAL PLAN.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annually

24 prepare and submit to the National Board for re25 view, a plan for improving the Nation’s integrated
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1 labor market information system. The Secretary

2 shall also submit the plan, together with the com3 ments and recommendations of the National Board,

4 to the President and Congress.

5 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall describe the

6 budgetary needs of the labor market information

7 system, and shall describe the activities of such Fed8 eral agencies with respect to data collection, analy9 sis, and dissemination for each fiscal year succeeding

10 the fiscal year in which the plan is developed. The

11 plan shall—

12 (A) establish goals for system development

13 and improvement based on information needs

14 for achieving economic growth and productivity,

15 accountability, fund allocation equity, and an

16 understanding of labor market characteristics

17 and dynamics;

18 (B) specify the common core set of data

19 that shall be included in the integrated labor

20 market information system;

21 (C) describe the current spending on inte22 grated labor market information activities from

23 all sources, assess the adequacy of the funds

24 and identify the specific budget needs of the

25 Federal and State workforce development agen-
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1 cies with respect to implementing and improv2 ing an integrated labor market information sys3 tem and the activities of such agencies with re4 spect to data compilation, analysis, and dis5 semination for each fiscal year in which the

6 plan is developed;

7 (D) develop a budget for an integrated

8 labor market information system that accounts

9 for all funds in subparagraph (C) and any new

10 funds made available pursuant to this Act, and

11 describes the relative allotments to be made

12 for—

13 (i) the operation of the cooperative

14 statistical programs under section

15 501(c)(2);

16 (ii) ensuring that technical standards

17 are met pursuant to section 501(c)(3); and

18 (iii) consumer information and analy19 sis, matching data, dissemination, technical

20 assistance, and research under paragraphs

21 (2)(C), (4), and (5) of section 501(c);

22 (E) describe the existing system, informa23 tion needs, and the development of new data

24 programs, analytical techniques, definitions and

25 standards, dissemination mechanisms, govern-
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1 ance mechanisms, and funding processes to

2 meet new needs;

3 (F) summarize the results of an annual re4 view of the costs to the States of meeting con5 tract requirements for data production, includ6 ing a description of how the budget request for

7 an integrated labor market information system

8 will cover such costs;

9 (G) describe how the State Councils will be

10 reimbursed for carrying out the duties for labor

11 market information;

12 (H) recommend methods to simplify and

13 integrate automated client intake and eligibility

14 determination systems across workforce devel15 opment programs to permit easy determination

16 of eligibility for funding and other assistance in

17 job training, job search, income support, sup18 portive services, and other reemployment serv19 ices; and

20 (I) provide for the involvement of States in

21 developing the plan by holding formal consulta22 tions conducted in cooperation with representa23 tives of the Governor or State Council, where

24 appropriate, pursuant to a process established

25 by the National Board.
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1 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—The Sec2 retary may receive assistance from member and other

3 Federal agencies (such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics

4 and the Employment and Training Administration of the

5 Department of Labor, the Administration on Children and

6 Families of the Department of Health and Human Serv7 ices, and the Office of Adult and Vocational Education

8 and the National Center for Education Statistics of the

9 Department of Education) to assist in the collection, anal10 ysis, and dissemination of labor market information, and

11 in the provision of training and technical assistance to

12 users of information, including States, employers, youth,

13 and adults.

14 SEC. 504. RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNORS.

15 (a) DESIGNATION OF STATE AGENCY.—The Gov16 ernor of each State and the State Council, where appro17 priate, shall designate one State agency to be the agency

18 responsible for—

19 (1) the management and oversight of a state20 wide comprehensive integrated labor market infor21 mation system; and

22 (2) developing a State unified labor market in23 formation budget on an annual basis.
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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of receiving

2 Federal financial assistance under this title, the Governor

3 or State Council, where appropriate, shall—

4 (1) develop, maintain, and continuously improve

5 a comprehensive integrated labor market informa6 tion system, which shall—

7 (A) include the data specified in section

8 501(c)(2);

9 (B) be responsive to the needs of the State

10 and the localities of such State for planning

11 and evaluative data, including employment and

12 economic analyses and projections, and program

13 outcome data on employment and earnings for

14 the quality assurance system under section 204;

15 and

16 (C) meet Federal standards under chapter

17 35 of title 44, United States Code, and other

18 appropriate Federal standards established by

19 the Bureau;

20 (2) ensure the performance of contract and

21 grant responsibilities for data compilation, analysis,

22 and dissemination;

23 (3) conduct such other data collection, analysis,

24 and dissemination activities as will ensure the avail-
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1 ability of comprehensive State and local labor mar2 ket information;

3 (4) coordinate the data collection, analysis, and

4 dissemination activities of other State and local

5 agencies, with particular attention to State edu6 cation, economic development, human services, and

7 welfare agencies, to ensure complementary and com8 patibility among data; and

9 (5) cooperate with the National Board and the

10 Secretary by making available, as requested, data

11 for the evaluation of programs covered by the labor

12 market information and the quality assurance sys13 tems under section 204.

14 (c) NONINTERFERENCE WITH STATE FUNCTIONS.—

15 Nothing in this Act shall limit the ability of the State

16 agency designated under this section to conduct additional

17 data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities with

18 funds derived from sources other than this Act.

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