Title: Workforce Development Investment Act of 2017
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Workforce Development Investment Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit of $5,000 for each community college, other institution of higher education, or area career and technical education school engaged in a qualified partnership with the employer. The bill allows a maximum credit of $20,000 in any taxable year.
Within six months of the enactment of this bill, the Department of Education must define the term "qualified partnership." The term must include a partnership through which an employer: (1) collaborates with an educational institution to help develop curriculum in order to improve workforce development and job training for students; (2) helps provide instruction to students in the classroom; and (3) provides internships, apprenticeships, or other similar educational opportunities in the workplace for students.
This bill also allows employers a worker training tax credit equal to the lesser of: 50% of the job training program expenditures for a full-time employee participating in a qualified training program, or $5,000. A "qualified training program" is: (1) a qualified partnership, or (2) an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Department of Labor under the National Apprenticeship Act.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2700 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2700

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit 
    against income tax as an incentive to partner with educational 
  institutions to improve workforce development and job training for 
 students and a credit against income tax for certain expenses of job 
                           training programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2017

 Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire (for herself, Mr. Polis, and Mr. Moulton) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit 
    against income tax as an incentive to partner with educational 
  institutions to improve workforce development and job training for 
 students and a credit against income tax for certain expenses of job 
                           training programs.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Development Investment Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS WHICH PARTNER WITH EDUCATIONAL 
              INSTITUTIONS TO IMPROVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND JOB 
              TRAINING FOR STUDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section:

``SEC. 45S. EMPLOYERS PARTNERING WITH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO 
              IMPROVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND JOB TRAINING FOR 
              STUDENTS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of section 38, the employer 
partnering credit determined under this section for any taxable year is 
an amount equal to $5,000 for each qualified educational institution 
engaged in a qualified partnership with the employer.
    ``(b) Maximum Credit.--
            ``(1) In general.--The maximum credit determined under this 
        section for the taxable year shall not exceed $20,000.
            ``(2) Controlled groups.--For purposes of paragraph (1), 
        all persons treated as a single employer under subsection (b), 
        (c), (m), or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a single 
        taxpayer.
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Qualified educational institution.--The term 
        `qualified educational institution' means any community 
        college, any other institution of higher education, and any 
        area career and technical education school.
            ``(2) Community college.--The term `community college' 
        means an institution of higher education that--
                    ``(A) admits as a regular student an individual who 
                is beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in 
                the State in which the institution is located and who 
                has the ability to benefit from the training offered by 
                the institution, and
                    ``(B) offers a 2-year program in engineering, 
                mathematics, or the physical or biological sciences 
                designed to prepare a student to work as a technician 
                or at the semiprofessional level in engineering, 
                scientific, or other technological fields requiring the 
                understanding and application of basic engineering, 
                scientific, or mathematical principles of knowledge.
            ``(3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        `institution of higher education' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1002).
            ``(4) Area career and technical education school.--The term 
        `area career and technical education school' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
        Technical Education Act of 2006 (29 U.S.C. 2302).
            ``(5) Qualified partnership.--Not later than six months 
        after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
        of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 
        shall define the term `qualified partnership'. Such term shall 
        include a partnership through which--
                    ``(A) an employer collaborates with an educational 
                institution to help develop curriculum in order to 
                improve workforce development and job training for 
                students,
                    ``(B) an employer helps provide instruction to 
                students in the classroom, and
                    ``(C) an employer provides internships, 
                apprenticeships, or other similar educational 
                opportunities in the workplace for students.
    ``(d) Certain Rules To Apply.--For purposes of this section, rules 
similar to the rules of subsections (c), (d), and (e) of section 52 
shall apply.''.
    (b) Credit To Be Part of General Business Credit.--Section 38(b) of 
such Code is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (35), 
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and inserting ``, 
plus'', and by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(37) the employer partnering credit determined under 
        section 45S.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45S. Employers partnering with educational institutions to 
                            improve workforce development and job 
                            training for students.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 3. TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS WHO ENGAGE IN QUALIFIED WORKER 
              TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by the preceding 
provisions of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section:

``SEC. 45T. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS WHO ENGAGE IN QUALIFIED WORKER 
              TRAINING.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, in the case of any 
employer, the worker training tax credit determined under this section 
with respect to any eligible employee of the employer is an amount 
equal to the lesser of--
            ``(1) 50 percent of the job training program expenditures 
        of the taxpayer with respect to such employee during the 
        taxable year, or
            ``(2) $5,000.
    ``(b) Job Training Program Expenses.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `job training program expenses' 
        means amounts paid or incurred by the employer for expenses 
        incurred by or on behalf of an eligible employee for 
        participation in a qualified training program.
            ``(2) Qualified training program.--The term `qualified 
        training program' means--
                    ``(A) a qualified partnership (as defined in 
                section 45S(c)(5)), or
                    ``(B) an apprenticeship program registered and 
                certified with the Secretary of Labor under section 1 
                of the National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50).
    ``(c) Eligible Employee.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`eligible employee' means any employee of the employer who, while 
participating in the qualified training program, is--
            ``(1) employed on average at least 40 hours of service per 
        week, or
            ``(2) in the case of a qualified training program which a 
        qualified partnership (as defined in section 45S(c)(5)), meets 
        such hourly work requirements as may be specified by the 
        Secretary of Education in connection with such partnership.
    ``(d) Recapture of Credit for Employee Not Performing Minimum 
Service.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of any employee with respect 
        to whom a credit is allowed under this section and whose 
        employment is terminated by the employer (other than by reason 
        of such employee's gross misconduct) before the end of the 2-
        year period beginning on the first day of the employee's study 
        or training with respect to which a credit is allowed under 
        this section, the tax of the taxpayer under this chapter for 
        the taxable year during which such termination occurs shall be 
        increased by an amount equal to--
                    ``(A) the aggregate decrease in the credits allowed 
                under section 38 for all prior taxable years which 
                would have resulted if the job training program 
                expenses with respect to such employee had been zero, 
                multiplied by
                    ``(B) the inclusion ratio.
            ``(2) Inclusion ratio.--For purposes of this subsection, 
        the inclusion ratio is the ratio which--
                    ``(A) an amount equal to the difference of--
                            ``(i) the number of days in the 2-year 
                        period, over
                            ``(ii) the number of days such employee was 
                        employed by the employer during such 2-year 
                        period, bears to
                    ``(B) the number of days in the 2-year period.
    ``(e) Controlled Groups.--For purposes of this section, all persons 
treated as a single employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of 
section 414 shall be treated as a single employer.''.
    (b) Credit To Be Part of General Business Credit.--Subsection (b) 
of section 38 of such Code, as amended by the preceding provisions of 
this Act, is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (36), 
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (37) and inserting ``, 
plus'', and by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(38) the worker training tax credit determined under 
        section 45T(a).''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45T. Credit for employers who engage in qualified worker 
                            training.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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