An Act To Attract, Educate and Retain New State Residents To Strengthen the Workforce
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0647
Committee Amendment CA_A_H556 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to H.P. 468, L.D. 647, Bill, "An Act To 
Attract, Educate and Retain New State Residents To Strengthen the Workforce" 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §8614 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 1, lines 
to 22 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'2. Coordinator. Each welcome center under subsection 1 must employ a full-time 
coordinator. The coordinator shall: 
A. Administer the center: 
B. Collaborate and work in conjunction with the department including the office to 
carry out the purposes of this section, including developing a program or series of 
programs designed to serve the needs of initiative participants: and 
C. 
Make efforts to secure additional funding from public and private sources, 
including donations, grants or public-private partnerships, to provide ongoing funding 
of the welcome center, as needed to support ongoing operations or to expand 
capacity.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §8614 in subsection 4 in the first line (page 2, line 2 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: 
11may
and inserting the following: 'shall' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 12 in L.D.) by inserting after 
the following: "training program" the following: ', including training classes,' 
Amend the bill in section 3 by striking out all of subsections 1 and 2 (page 2, lines 14 
to 39 and page 3, lines 1 to 15 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
11. 
Program requirements. 
The Department of Education's office of adult 
education and family literacy, referred to in this section as 
11the office,
shall administer a 
2-year program. The program must prepare immigrants for identified workforce needs of 
employers in the State to accelerate entry into livable wage employment and employment 
advancement and to enhance employer retention of the immigrants by combining 
vocation-specific English language acquisition with training in the specific vocational 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 468, L.D. 647 
areas required by the employers. Training classes must be provided and funded pursuant 
to a grant process under subsection 2. 
2. Training grants. The office shall establish a statewide competitive grant process 
to carry out the purposes of subsection 1. The amount of a grant under this subsection is 
determined by the office based upon the needs of the area to be served and the availability 
of funding. The office shall consider grants to cover all areas of the State with emphasis 
on areas with large immigrant populations or where there is a need for skilled workers 
that training under this section may provide. An eligible proposal for a grant under this 
subsection must include: 
A. 
Intensive vocation-specific English language and vocabulary classes for 
participating potential, newly hired and incumbent employees. For the purposes of 
the grant program, "potential employee" means an individual seeking to change the 
individual's employment, to find new employment or to acquire new skills and 
"incumbent employee" means an employee already working for the employer either 
as an employee or through placement by a staffing agency; 
B. Intensive workforce training classes for participating potential, newly hired and 
incumbent employees that include soft skills and acquaint immigrants with the 
culture of the workplace. For purposes of this paragraph, "soft skills" means those 
basic skills necessary to obtain, maintain and advance in employment, such as 
interviewing and communications skills; 
C. Interviewing immigrant participants and identifying the education level, English 
language ability, skill sets, work experience, qualifications and credentials of each 
immigrant participant; 
D. Collaboration with participating employers to: 
(1) Identify the employers' specific workforce needs; 
(2) Identify skills needed for positions required by the employers; 
(3) Receive input from the employers for the design of the training classes, 
including information on required English language proficiency, workplace 
culture, on-site space or other vocational training elements such as tools, manuals 
or site tours; 
(4) Ensure that the employers provide the time and space to offer training classes 
on site at the employers' workplaces or, where that is not feasible, that employers 
provide at no cost to their participating newly hired or incumbent employees 
supports such as transportation and incentives to prioritize, encourage and 
facilitate employee participation; and 
(5) Ensure that within the first 12 months of patiicipating in the program, 
employers receive at least 12 hours of formal cultural competency training 
regarding bridging effectively across a wide variety of cultural similarities and 
differences to help establish an inclusive workplace environment, unless 
employers can establish that they have already undergone such training within 
the previous 12 months; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'fr" to H.P. 468, L.D. 647 
E. One or more training classes to prepare the immigrant participants as potential 
workers to enter into and retain livable wage employment within 6 to 18 months of 
the beginning of the training; and 
F. Collection and reporting of data including outcomes of employment and job 
retention. 
The office shall give special consideration to proposals for grants under this subsection 
that provide incentives for immigrants to participate in the training classes, such as 
agreements by employers to pay an employee the employee's hourly rate while attending 
the training classes.' 
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 1 in the 2nd line (page 4, line 6 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "manage" and inserting the following: 'accommodate' 
Amend the bill in section 4 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 4, lines 9 to 13 in 
L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'2. 
Program elements. The office shall establish by rule the elements of the 
program. The program must provide for a planning process for communities that have 
experienced recent growth in their immigrant populations, or that would benefit from 
immigrant employees or population growth, to assess needs and plan for initiatives to 
help attract or integrate immigrants into the communities and local workforce. Initiatives 
may include, but are not limited to, provision of English language acquisition classes, 
training in vocational skills, launch of a welcome center as described in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 8614, identification of employers, cooperating 
partners or target areas and cultivation of community support.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 6 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 6. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
Adult Education 0364 
Initiative: Provides ongoing funding for expansion of the Welcome Center Initiative 
within the City of Lewiston's adult education program to attract, educate and retain 
foreign-trained workers residing in Androscoggin County. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
Adult Education 0364 
2019-20 
$150,000 
$150,000 
2020-21 
$150,000 
$150,000 
Initiative: Provides ongoing funding for the New Mainers Resource Center within the 
City of Portland's adult education program to assist foreign-trained professionals. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 468, L.D. 647 
GENERAL FUND . 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
Adult Education 0364 
2019-20 
$150,000 
$150,000 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for grants for proposed welcome centers. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
Adult Education 0364 
2019-20 
$25,000 
$25,000 
2020-21 
$150,000 
$150,000 
2020-21 
$75,000 
$75,000 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for grants to adult education programs to increase 
English language acquisition instruction in communities experiencing an increase in 
immigrant populations or demand, which will serve 800 participants in both fiscal years 
of the biennium. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
Local Community Planning Support Program N256 
2019-20 
$600,000 
$600,000 
2020-21 
$600,000 
$600,000 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for counties, municipalities and school 
administrative units to accommodate new immigrant populations who have settled within 
the counties, municipalities and school administrative units or to attract immigrant 
populations to address depopulation or workforce shortages within the counties, 
municipalities and school administrative units. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
2019-20 
$150,000 
$150,000 
2020-21 
$150,000 
$150,000 
Vocation-specific English-language Acquisition and Workforce Training Program 
N255 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for grants to service providers to provide English 
language instruction and vocational training and to place immigrant populations in the 
State with employers in the State. The grants will serve 500 participants in each fiscal 
year. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 468, L.D. 647 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
GENERAL FUND 
DEPARTMENT TOTAL-ALL FUNDS 
2019-20 
$400,000 
$400,000 
2019-20 
$1,475,000 
$1,475,000 
2020-21 
$400,000 
$400,000 
2020-21 
$1,525,000 
$1,525,000 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment provides additional details and clarifying language regarding the 
welcome centers, English language classes, training grants and local community planning 
support program. The amendment also changes the appropriation for proposed welcome 
centers from $50,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 and in fiscal year 2020-21 to $25,000 in 
fiscal year 2019-20 and $75,000 in fiscal year 2020-21. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/31/19 ;JW'ac 
LD647 
LR 568(02) 
An Act To Attract, Educate and Retain New State Residents To Strengthen the Workforce 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ft ( H-Ssh) 
Committee: Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2019-20 
FY 2020-21 
$1,475,000 
$1,525,000 
$1,475,000 
$1,525,000 
Projections 
FY 2021-22 
$300,000 
$300,000 
Projections 
FY 2022-23 
$300,000 
$300,000 
This bill includes General Fund appropriations totaling $1,475,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $1,525,000 in fiscal 
year 2020-21 to the Department of Education to provide education, services and training for the State's workforce 
immigrant population. Of these amounts, $150,000 per year in ongoing funds is for the expansion of the Welcome 
Center Initiative with the City of Lewiston's adult education program; $150,000 per year in ongoing funds is for the 
New Mainers Resource Center within the City of Portland's adult education program; $25,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 
only and $75,000 in fiscal year 2020-21 only is for grants for proposed welcome centers; $600,000 per year in fiscal 
years 2019-20 and 2020-21 only is for adult education programs to increase English language acquisition instruction 
in certain communities; $150,000 per year in fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 only is for local communities to 
accomodate or attract immigrant populations to address depopulation or workforce shortages; and $400,000 per year 
in fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 only is for vocation-specific English language acquisition and workforce training 
programs. 
LR0568(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1