2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 3 - Agriculture and Forestry › §3:285. Louisiana Agricultural Workforce Development Program

RS 3:285 - Louisiana Agricultural Workforce Development Program
A. Title; creation. There is hereby created the Louisiana Agricultural Workforce Development Program, hereinafter referred to as the "program", within the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, to be administered and supervised by the Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority, in order to grant incentive payments to Louisiana agricultural businesses to encourage the creation and employment of internships.
B. Declaration of purpose. The Legislature of Louisiana hereby finds and declares that the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state are dependent upon the continued encouragement, development, growth, and expansion of the Louisiana agriculture industry and rural areas. Furthermore, agricultural industries are a major source of employment for Louisiana residents and more programs are needed to encourage interest in and provide the necessary training for a wide range of agricultural jobs. Therefore, it is declared to be the purpose of this Section to ensure the continuation of a quality workforce for the agricultural industry and assist in the expansion of agricultural jobs by providing incentive payments to Louisiana agricultural businesses to encourage the creation and employment of internships.
C. Definitions. For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings hereinafter ascribed to them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Agricultural business" means an agricultural producer, or a person or legal entity who engages in agriculture or provides support activities, products, or services to an agricultural producer and such products or services that are directly related to the planting, growing, production, harvesting, or processing of Louisiana agricultural products.
(2) "Director" means the director of the Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority.
(3) "Immediate family member" means the spouse, parent, sibling, or child of the owner, manager, chief executive officer, or president of an agricultural business; a person to whom the owner, manager, chief executive officer, or president stands as legal guardian or tutor; or any other person living in the household of the owner, manager, chief executive officer, or president of an agricultural business by blood or marriage.
(4) "Intern" means an individual who is a student enrolled at a Louisiana secondary or postsecondary institution or a young and beginning farmer or rancher employed by an agricultural business pursuant to the program.
D. Program. (1) In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the authority, in cooperation with the commissioner, shall promulgate rules and regulations, subject to oversight by the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development, as are necessary to implement the provisions of this Section including but not limited to rules and regulations regarding the following:
(a) Criteria for selecting agricultural businesses for participation in the program, including the ability of a business to effectively supervise an intern and offer the intern an opportunity to obtain meaningful work experience through the business.
(b) Criteria for an internship to qualify under the program, including requirements that the internship provide an intern with at least one hundred thirty hours of work experience, not exceed one year in duration per intern, and pay an intern an hourly wage rate that is no less than the minimum wage rate pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
(c) Criteria for an agricultural business to use in selecting qualified interns provided that an immediate family member shall not be eligible to qualify as an intern.
(d) The process and timetable for selecting qualified agricultural businesses and qualified interns.
(e) Accounting requirements for tracking internship costs.
(f) The process for an agricultural business to seek reimbursement.
(2) Subject to appropriations by the legislature or receipt of other monies, the authority, on behalf of the department, may reimburse a participating agricultural business in an amount not to exceed fifty percent of the actual cost to the business of participating in the program. Actual cost includes the wages paid to an intern, reasonable allocation of fixed overhead expenses, and all incidental costs directly related to the internship. Based on the annual appropriation or monies received from other sources for the program, the director, in consultation with the commissioner, shall determine how many internships may be approved, the amount of reimbursement per internship, and whether an agricultural business may be reimbursed for more than one intern in the same fiscal year; provided that an agricultural business shall not be reimbursed for more than three internships in the same fiscal year.
E. Reporting. The department shall submit annually by August thirty-first to the appropriate legislative oversight committees, a report on the effectiveness of the program in achieving the purpose. The report shall include program information deemed relevant by the director in addition to the following specific informational items for each fiscal year:
(1) The total number of approved agricultural businesses to participate in the program.
(2) The total number of agriculture businesses participating in the program.
(3) The total number of interns and hours worked.
(4) The total amount of incentives granted under the program.
(5) The total amount of income earned by interns under the program.
(6) The total number of internships that led to permanent employment with a Louisiana agricultural business.
Acts 2020, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 23, §1, eff. Oct. 28, 2020.