An Act To Create the Put ME To Work Program
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1373
Committee Amendment CA_B_H443 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "]3,, to H.P. 932, L.D. 1373, Bill, "An Act To 
Create the Put ME To Work Program" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 26 MRSA c. 25, sub-c. 6 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 6 
PUT ME TO WORK PROGRAM 
§2041. Put ME to Work Program 
1. Establishment; purpose. The Put ME to Work Program. referred to in this 
section as "the program." is established within the Department of Labor. Bureau of 
Employment Services. referred to in this section as "the bureau." and the State Workforce 
Investment Board. 
The program must facilitate the establishment of job training 
programs in this State by working with private employers. adult education providers and 
postsecondary education institutions. The job training programs in the program must 
provide training to prepare workers for jobs in high-demand fields. 
2. 
Training criteria for fewer than 5 workers for a single employer or 2 
employers. The bureau shall work with private employers and industry sector partners to 
determine the demand for jobs and the skills needed for those jobs and with adult 
education. training providers and postsecondary education institutions to provide the 
appropriate education and training. A single employer applicant or 2 employers training 
fewer than 5 persons are eligible to use the program if the training program meets the 
following criteria: 
A. Training is for prospective. new hire or incumbent workers. Prospective worker 
trainees must be guaranteed a job interview with at least one of the participating 
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employers upon meeting the pretraining qualifications and the successful completion 
of training; 
B. The employer or employers work with career centers within the bureau to select, 
hire and train individuals from a pool of qualified candidates for employment as full-
time regular employees at the end of training; 
C. The job training program must provide education or training for employment in a 
trade or industty with a significant demand for skilled labor, either statewide or in a 
region in this State, that has been identified by the Center for Workforce Research 
and Information within the Department of Labor as providing employment for high-
compensation jobs or in an industty in which technology or work practices have 
significantly changed to require training to assist new workers to acquire needed 
skills or incumbent workers to remain current and competitive; 
D. The participating employers agree to hire persons who successfully complete the 
job training program at a post-training wage of at least $2.50 per hour more than the 
minimum hourly wage rate as set in state law and to provide successful incumbent 
worker trainees with an increase in the hourly wage to meet or exceed the median 
wage for that occupation in this State as identified by the Center for Workforce 
Research and Information within the Department of Labor; and 
E. A person who successfully completes the job training program must be awarded a 
certificate, degree or similar credential that is universally recognized by the 
employer's trade association or industty. 
The bureau shall leverage existing workforce funds and training programs and providers 
to assist employers in providing training. Priority for funding must be given to employers 
that contribute at least a 50% or higher in-kind or direct training cost match. 
3. 
Industry partnership criteria. 
The bureau shall work with an industty 
partnership to determine the demand for jobs and the skills needed for those jobs and with 
adult education, training providers and postsecondary education institutions to develop or 
provide the appropriate education and training. For pm:poses of this subsection, one or 
more employers providing training for 5 or more workers, or a recognized trade 
association or industty convener, is considered an industty partnership under the 
program. The following criteria apply. 
A. Training must be for prospective, new hire or incumbent workers. Prospective 
worker trainees must be guaranteed a job interview with at least one of the 
participating employers upon meeting the pretraining qualifications and the 
successful completion of training. 
B. The employer or employers shall work with career centers within the bureau to 
select, hire and train individuals from a pool of qualified candidates for employment 
as full-time regular employees at the end of training. 
C. The job training program must provide education or training for employment in a 
trade or industty with a significant demand for skilled labor, either statewide or in a 
region in this State, that has been identified by the Center for Workforce Research 
and Information within the Department of Labor as providing employment for high-
compensation jobs or in an industty where technology or work practices have 
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significantly changed to require training to assist new workers to acquire needed 
skills or incumbent workers to remain current and competitive. 
D. 
The participating employers must agree to hire persons who successfully 
complete the job training program at a post-training wage of at least $2.50 per hour 
more than the minimum hourly wage rate as set in state law and to provide successful 
incumbent worker trainees with an increase in the hourly wage to meet or exceed the 
median wage for that occupation in this State as identified by the Center for 
Workforce Research and Information within the Department of Labor. 
E. A person who successfully completes the job training program must be awarded a 
certificate. degree or similar credential that is universally recognized by the trade 
association or industry. 
The bureau shall leverage existing workforce funds and training programs and providers 
to assist employers in providing training. 
Priority for funding must be given to employers or industry partnerships that contribute at 
least a 50% or higher in-kind or direct training cost match and provide evidence of at 
least 2 of the following criteria: provision of fringe benefits; ongoing skill development 
or access to career pathways; an increase in the number of net new hires as a result of 
training; positive economic effects on the local or regional economy; short-term and long-
term leveraging of other resources; training of individuals who have historically faced 
barriers to employment and individuals who are unemployed or underemployed; return 
on investment for the State. region. industry and trainees; and other factors described in 
the state workforce development plan of the State Workforce Investment Board. 
4. Administration. The program is administered jointly by the Department of Labor 
and the State Workforce Investment Board under rules and operating procedures adopted 
by the Commissioner of Labor and the State Workforce Investment Board. 
Administrative costs are limited to 5% of program funds. 
5. Review of proposals. An application for funding under the program for job 
training as described in subsection 2 must be reviewed on an as-needed basis by a review 
team made up of the program director of the bureau. the director of the bureau and the 
director of the State Workforce Investment Board. Awards must be prioritized using 
available funding. The review team. at its discretion. may deny an application and 
connect applicants to an alternative funding source if available or recommend an 
alternative industry partnership structure. 
Proposals meeting the industry partnership criteria described in subsection 3 must be 
reviewed by the State Workforce Investment Board. 
Voting members of the State 
Workforce Investment Board must rank competing proposals by the criteria in subsection 
3. with available funding taken into consideration when determining final awards so as to 
maximize training for the most individuals and return on investment. 
The State Workforce Investment Board. at its discretion, may deny an application and 
connect applicants to an alternative funding source if available or recommend an 
alternative industry partnership structure. 
6. Eligibility for fundina:. Applicants eligible to receive funding from the program 
include. but are not limited to, employers. regional and local economic development 
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agencies or partnerships. community-based organizations. job training service providers. 
registered apprenticeship service providers. local adult education providers and 
postsecondary education institutions. 
7. Training. Training provided under this section is considered approved training 
under the unemployment insurance laws and the laws regarding dislocated workers 
administered by the Department of Labor. 
Training funds authorized under this section must be paid to the employer or training 
provider on a reimbursement basis. 
Denied applicants may reapply in the following fiscal year. 
S. Report. For any year in which the program is funded. the Commissioner of Labor 
and the director of the State Workforce Investment Board shall provide to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor. commerce. research 
and economic development matters a report by March 1st of the following year. which 
must include. for each business assisted under this subchapter. the name and location of 
the business. the number of individuals trained or retrained. the dollar amount expended 
and. when applicable. the number of new jobs created. 
9. Rules. Rules adopted pursuant to this subchapter are routine technical rules as 
. dermed in Title 5. chapter 375. subchapter 2-A. 
10. Nonlapsing funds. Any unencumbered balance of General Fund appropriations 
remaining at the end of each fiscal year in the program may not lapse but must be carried 
forward to be used for the same pm:poses. 
Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
LABOR, DEPARTMENT OF 
State Workforce Investment Board Z158 
Initiative: Provides funds to be used to match funding or in-kind contributions by 
businesses participating in the Put ME to Work Program. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
2015-16 
$475,000 
$475,000 
2016-17 
$712,500 
$712,500 
State Workforce Investment Board Z158 
Initiative: Provides funds to support a portion of the cost of one Labor Program Specialist 
position to manage the Put ME to Work Program. 
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COMMITIEE AMENDMENT j) " 
to H.P. 932, L.D. 1373 
GENERAL FUND 
Personal Services 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
LABOR, DEPARTMENT OF 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
GENERAL FUND 
DEPARTMENT TOTAL-ALL FUNDS 
SU~y 
2015-16 
$25,000 
$25,000 
2015-16 
$500,000 
$500,000 
2016-17 
$37,500 
$37,500 
2016-17 
$750,000 
$750,000 
This amendment, which is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on 
Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development, strikes the bill and replaces it 
with a workforce training program to be administered jointly by the Department of Labor 
and the State Workforce illvestment Board. 
The amendment replaces the requirement in the bill that participating businesses 
provide at least 50% of the cost of the program with a preference for such businesses 
when granting applications. Additionally, for industry partnership applicants, 7 factors 
are also taken into account when reviewing applications. 
The amendment requires participating employers to hire trainees at a rate at least 
$2.50 per hour more than the state-mandated minimum hourly wage rate and to pay 
incumbent worker trainees with an hourly wage that meets or exceeds the median wage 
for that occupation as identified by the Center for Workforce Research and Infonnation 
within the Department of Labor. 
The amendment eliminates the $100,000 funding per fiscal year in the bill for the 
Industry Partnership Assistance Collaborative and the $900,000 per fiscal year funding in 
the bill for the Maine Community College System's Maine Quality Centers. Funding is 
instead directed to the State Workforce Investment Board at a level of $500,000 in the 
first fiscal year and $750,000 in the 2nd fiscal year. This funding is to be used to match 
contributions of participating businesses and to support a portion of the cost of one Labor 
Program Specialist position to manage the Put ME to Work Program. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/13/15 
;t;pac:.. 
LD 1373 
LR 1112(03) 
An Act To Create the Put ME To Work Program 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment~ [1-1 -4 L/-3) 
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropria tions/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY2015-16 
FY 2016-17 
$500,000 
$750,000 
$500,000 
$750,000 
Projections 
FY 2017-18 
$750,000 
$750,000 
Projections 
FY 2018-19 
$750,000 
$750,000. 
This bill includes General Fund appropriations totaling $500,000 in fiscal year 2015-16 and $750,000 in fiscal year 
2016-17 to the State Workforce Investment Board within the Department of Labor for the Put ME to Work Program. 
Ofthis amount, $25,000 in fiscal year 2015-16 and $37,500 in fiscal year 2016-17 is appropriated to the board to 
support a portion of the cost of one Labor Program Specialist position to manage the program and $475,000 in fiscal 
year 2015-16 and $712,500 in fiscal year 2016-17 is appropriated to be used to match funding or in-kind contributions 
by businesses participating in the Put Me to Work Program. 
LRII12(03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1