H. B. 2921


(By Delegates Cann, Angotti, Coleman,

Kominar, Williams, Stemple and Manchin)


[Introduced March 20, 2001; referred to the

Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business then Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, two, three, four and five, article three-d, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a, all relating to establishing a program for the award of cash grants to qualified adults who obtain a general educational development certificate.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That sections one, two, three, four and five, article three-d, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section,
designated section four-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3D. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.

§18B-3D-1. Legislative findings and intent.

(a) The Legislature finds that a recent statewide study of the workforce training needs of employers throughout the state provided a clear message from the business community:

(1) The needs of employers are rapidly changing and training providers must be more responsive or the state economy will suffer;

(2) Information specific to West Virginia, once again emphasizes the critical link between education and economic development that empowering youth and adults with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the competitive work world also results in a workforce which enables businesses and communities to prosper;

(3) Although employers are generally satisfied with the quality of the West Virginia workforce and the study provides additional support that the measures adopted in the Jobs Through Education Act will bring continued improvement, workforce needs are not static, critical skill shortages currently exist, and the establishment of a workforce development system that responds more quickly to the evolving skill requirements of employers is needed.

(4) The state's workforce will be strengthened by extending
initiatives to adults who did not complete their secondary education to seek and obtain a general educational development certificate.
(b) The Legislature further finds that a study of community and technical education in West Virginia performed by the national center for higher education management systems called attention to problems in providing needed workforce education and found that there is a need to:

(1) Jump-start development of community college and postsecondary workforce development initiatives;

(2) Provide incentives for existing public postsecondary providers to respond jointly to both short and long-term needs of employers and other clients;

(3) Provide funding for explicit incentives for partnerships between employers and public postsecondary institutions to develop comprehensive community college and workforce development services; and

(4) Allocate funds competitively on the basis of proposals submitted by providers.

(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to provide two forms of grant programs under this article to address these
needs:
(1) "Facility grants" by which community and technical colleges are awarded funds for developing programs with employers in order to establish a better educated workforce; and

(2) "GED grants" by which qualified adults may receive a cash award for obtaining a general educational development certificate.

(c) (d) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the granting of funds award of facility grants under this article will promote the mission of community and technical colleges as set forth in section three-a, article three of this chapter.

(d) (e) It is the intent of the Legislature through the grant of funds award of facility grants under this article to provide limited seed money to address some of the specific areas where improvement is needed, including:

(1) Improving employer awareness and access to services available through the state's education institutions;

(2) Providing designated professionals and resources to support workforce education through the state's education institutions;

(3) Increasing the capacity of the state's education institutions to respond rapidly to employer needs for workforce
education, and training on an on-going basis through the development of a client-focused, visible point of contact for program development and delivery, service referral and needs assessment, such as a workforce development center; and
(4) Maximizing the use of available resources for workforce education and training through partnerships with public vocational, technical and adult education centers and private training providers.

(e) (f) It is further the intent of the Legislature that consideration and partnering opportunities be given to small businesses on an equal basis with larger businesses for the purposes of this article and that the seed money will assist providers in becoming self-sustaining through partnerships with business and industry which will include cost-sharing initiatives and fees charged for the use of services.

(f) (g) The Legislature intends that grants of funds the award of facility grants made under the provisions of this article will be competitive among applicants who meet all of the criteria established in this article and such other criteria as may be specified by the council. Subject to the availability of funds, more than one competition may be held during the same fiscal year
and the dollar range of awards granted in successive competitions shall be prorated based on the number of months remaining in the fiscal year. Subject to annual review and justification, it is the intent of the Legislature to renew facility grant awards made under this article each year for five years following the initial grant award.
(h) The Legislature intends that the award of GED grants under the provisions of this article will be granted annually on a first-come first-served basis to applicants who meet all of the criteria established in this article. Grants shall be in the amount of five hundred dollars each. Subject to the availability of funds, one thousand of these grants may be made each year.

§18B-3D-2. Workforce development initiative program created; program administration.
(a) For the purposes of this article "Council" means the council for community and economic development as defined in section two, article two, chapter five-b of this code.
(b) There is hereby created under the council, a workforce development initiative program to administer and oversee individual GED grants and facility grants to community and technical colleges to achieve the purposes of this article in accordance with legislative intent. The primary responsibility responsibilities of the council as it relates they relate to the workforce development initiative program is are: (1) To administer the state fund for community and technical college and workforce development including setting criteria for grant applications, receiving applications for grants, making determinations on distribution of funds, and evaluating the performance of workforce development initiatives; and (2) to administer the state fund for the award of GED grants under this article.
(c) The council shall review and approve the expenditure of all grant funds, including development of appropriate additional application criteria, the review and selection of applicants for funding, and the annual review and justification of applicants for grant renewal.
(1) To aid in decisionmaking, the council shall appoint an advisory committee consisting of the vice chancellor for community and technical colleges, the secretary of education and the arts or a designee, the assistant state superintendent for technical and adult education, the chair of the joint commission for vocational-technical-occupational education, and the chair of the human resource investment council. The advisory committee shall review all applications for workforce development initiative grants and make a report including recommendations for distributing grant funds to the council. The advisory committee also shall make recommendations on methods to share among the community and technical colleges any curricula developed as a result of a workforce development initiative grant.
(2) When determining which facility grant proposals will be funded, the council shall give special consideration to proposals by community and technical colleges that involve businesses with fewer than fifty employees.
(3) The council also shall weigh each proposal to avoid awarding facility grants which will have the ultimate effect of providing unfair advantage to employers new to the state who will be in direct competition with established local businesses.
(d) The council may allocate a reasonable amount for general program administration, not to exceed five percent up to a maximum of $50,000 fifty thousand dollars of the funds available for grants on an annual basis, and not to exceed five percent up to a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars of the funds available for GED grants for the first two years of the program. for general program administration
(e) The head of the council shall report to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability on the status of the workforce development initiative program by the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and annually thereafter by the first day of December.
(f) Moneys appropriated or otherwise available for the workforce development initiative program shall be allocated by line item to an appropriate account. Any moneys remaining in the fund at the close of a fiscal year shall be carried forward for use in the next fiscal year.
(g) Nothing in this article requires a specific level of appropriation by the Legislature.
§18B-3D-3. Mission of the workforce development initiative program.
(a) The state-wide mission of the workforce development initiative program is to develop a strategy to strengthen the quality of the state's workforce by providing an incentive for adults without a secondary education to obtain a general educational development certificate and by linking the existing postsecondary education capacity to the needs of business, industry and other employers. Available funding for facility grants will be used to provide explicit incentives for partnerships between employers and community and technical colleges to develop comprehensive workforce development services. Funds for facility grants will be granted on the basis of proposals developed according to criteria established by the council.
(b) The mission of any community and technical college accepting a workforce development initiative grant is to:
(1) Become client-focused and develop programs that meet documented employer needs;
(2) Involve and collaborate with employers in the development of programs;
(3) Develop customized training programs that provide for the changing needs of employers and that are offered at flexible times and locations to accommodate employer scheduling;
(4) Develop partnerships with other public and private providers, including small business development centers and, vocational, technical and adult education centers, and with business and labor, to fulfill the workforce development needs of the service area;
(5) Assist in the on-going assessment of the workforce development needs of the service area; and
(6) Serve as a visible point of contact and referral for services to meet the workforce development needs of the service area.
§18B-3D-4. Application procedures for facility grants.
(a) In order to participate in the workforce development initiative grant program, a community and technical college must meet the following conditions:
(1) Establish a consortia committee as required by section three, article three-a of this chapter. The consortia committee or a subcommittee thereof shall participate in the development of and approve applications for funding grants under the provisions of this article, and shall approve the workforce development initiative budget;
(2) Develop a plan to achieve measurable improvements in the quality of the workforce within its service area over a five-year period. The plan must be developed in partnership with employers, local vocational schools, and other workforce education providers;
(3) Establish a special revolving fund under the jurisdiction of the consortia committee dedicated solely to workforce development initiatives for the purposes provided in this article. Any fees or revenues generated from workforce development initiatives funded by a competitive grant shall be deposited into this fund.
(b) To be eligible to receive a workforce development initiative grant, a community and technical college must provide at least the following information in its application:
(1) Identification of the specific business or business sector training needs that will be met if a workforce development initiative grant is received;
(2) A commitment from the private sector to provide a match of one dollar for each dollar of state grant money received except in cases where the community and technical college can demonstrate in the grant application that it would be a hardship for the business being served to provide such a match. In those cases only, the match required may be reduced to one private dollar for every three dollars of state grant money provided;
(3) An agreement to share with other community and technical colleges any curricula developed using funds from a workforce development initiative grant;
(4) A specific plan showing how the community and technical college will collaborate with local postsecondary vocational institutions to maximize the use of existing facilities;
(5) An acknowledgment that acceptance of a grant under the provisions of this article commits the community and technical college and its consortia committee to such terms, conditions and deliverables as is specified by the council in the request for applications, including, but not limited to, the measures by which the performance of the workforce development initiative will be evaluated.
§18B-3D-4a. Application procedures for GED grants.
(a) In order to participate in the workforce development initiative grant program, an individual shall:
(1) Have been a citizen and a resident of West Virginia for the two years immediately preceding the date of application;
(2) Be between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five at the time of the application;
(3) Not be incarcerated in a state or federal penal institution at the time of the application;
(4) Be without a high school diploma or general educational development certificate;
(5) Demonstrate the ability to obtain a general educational development certificate within one year from the date of application; and
(6) Obtain a general education development certificate from a state approved institution or organization within one year from the date of application for the grant.
§18B-3D-5. Legislative rules.
The council shall propose a legislative rule pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this article and shall file the rule with the legislative oversight commission on education accountability no later than the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine two thousand one.





NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide as many as 1,000 cash grants annually of $500 to West Virginia citizens between the ages of 35 and 50 who pursue and obtain a general education development certificate (GED) from a state approved institution.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
§18B-3D-4a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.