PRINTER'S NO. 1330
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1239
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY WEBSTER, PIELLI, McNEILL, KINSEY, MADDEN, SANCHEZ,
GUENST, HILL-EVANS, DELLOSO, CERRATO, HOHENSTEIN AND SCOTT,
MAY 24, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MAY 24, 2023
AN ACT
Establishing the Veterans Entering the Sustainability Sector
Program and the Veterans Entering the Sustainability Sector
Fund; and imposing duties on the Department of Agriculture,
the Department of Community and Economic Development, the
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the
Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of
Military and Veterans Affairs.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Veterans
Entering the Sustainability Sector (VETSS) Program Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Apprenticeship training." Workforce training that, upon
satisfactory completion, results in the issuance of a registered
apprentice certificate recognized by the department and that
involves any of the following vocations, without limitation:
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(1) Electrician.
(2) Construction craft laborer.
(3) Machinist.
(4) Sheet metal worker.
(5) Carpenter.
(6) Maintenance mechanic.
(7) Welder.
(8) Plumber.
(9) Pipe fitter.
(10) Automotive technician.
(11) Industrial manufacturing technician.
(12) Material coordinator.
"Department." The Department of Community and Economic
Development of the Commonwealth.
"Eligible employer." An employer that:
(1) Operates in the sustainability sector.
(2) Devotes the majority of its financial resources to
the development and operation of renewable energy as part of
its business activities.
(3) Hires a veteran with apprenticeship training.
"Environmental concerns." Includes any of the following that
may adversely affect this Commonwealth and the residents of this
Commonwealth:
(1) Climate change.
(2) The loss of biodiversity.
(3) The loss of ecosystem services.
(4) Land degradation.
(5) Air pollution.
(6) Water pollution.
(7) Minimal renewable energy sources.
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"Fund." The Veterans Entering the Sustainability Sector Fund
established under section 8.
"Participating departments." The Department of Agriculture,
the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the
Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of
Military and Veterans Affairs.
"Program." The Veterans Entering the Sustainability Sector
Program established under section 3.
"Renewable energy." As follows:
(1) Energy that comes from a source that:
(i) Is natural.
(ii) Is self-replenishing.
(iii) Cannot be exhausted.
(iv) Generally has a low-carbon or zero-carbon
footprint.
(2) The term includes:
(i) Wind power.
(ii) Solar power.
(iii) Bioenergy and organic matter burned as fuel.
(iv) Hydroelectric power, including tidal energy.
"Sustainability sector." Industries that address the impact
of environmental concerns on the economy, society and the
health, safety and general welfare of the public.
"Veteran." As defined in 51 Pa.C.S. § 7101.2 (relating to
definitions).
"VETSS grant." A Veterans Entering the Sustainability Sector
grant awarded under the program.
Section 3. Establishment of program.
The Veterans Entering the Sustainability Sector Program is
established within the department.
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Section 4. Purposes of program.
The purposes of the program are, through a partnership with
the participating departments, to:
(1) Provide veterans with apprenticeship training and
the opportunity to enter the workforce in the sustainability
sector.
(2) Prioritize the hiring of veterans with
apprenticeship training by any of the participating
departments to address environmental concerns.
(3) Provide VETSS grants to employers in the
sustainability sector that hire veterans with apprenticeship
training.
Section 5. Workforce training.
In consultation and coordination with the participating
departments and with other organizations or business entities
that provide or have the capacity to provide apprentice
training, the department shall oversee the development and
implementation of apprenticeship training for the purpose of
awarding VETSS grants.
Section 6. Grant applications.
(a) Availability of grant.--An eligible employer may apply
for a VETSS grant.
(b) Public notice.--The department shall provide the
following on the publicly accessible Internet website of the
department:
(1) Information regarding the availability and award of
VETSS grants.
(2) A form developed for eligible employers to use to
apply for a VETSS grant.
(c) Contents of application.--To qualify for a VETSS grant,
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an eligible employer must complete a grant application form and
provide the following information to the department:
(1) The name, address and contact information of the
eligible employer that seeks the VETSS grant.
(2) The name of the individual hired by the eligible
employer, along with verification that the individual:
(i) Is a veteran.
(ii) Has satisfactorily completed, or is expected to
satisfactorily complete, apprenticeship training.
(3) Verification that the applicant is an eligible
employer.
(4) The amount of the VETSS grant requested.
(5) Any other information that the department deems
necessary and appropriate.
(d) Application periods.--Beginning no later than 180 days
after the effective date of this subsection, the department
shall begin accepting and processing applications for VETSS
grants. For all subsequent years, the department shall establish
an application period during which applications for VETSS grants
are accepted.
Section 7. Award of VETSS grants.
(a) Review.--After review of the information provided in an
eligible employer's submitted application, the department shall
determine whether to award a VETSS grant to the eligible
employer and, if so, the amount of the grant awarded.
(b) Time periods.--
(1) The department shall approve or deny an application
under the program no later than 60 days after the receipt of
the completed application.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), if the department fails to
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approve or deny an application under the program within 60
days after the receipt of the application, the application
shall be deemed denied.
(3) To aid in the determination of whether to award a
VETSS grant, the department may require additional
information or verification following receipt of the
completed application. In such an instance, the time period
specified in this subsection shall commence upon receipt of
the additional information or verification.
(c) Notice.--
(1) The department shall provide written notice to an
eligible employer of the award or denial of the grant
requested in the eligible employer's application.
(2) Notice of the award of a VETSS grant shall include
the amount of the grant awarded and any conditions or
restrictions on the use of the grant.
(3) Notice of the denial of all or part of a VETSS grant
shall include the reasons for the full or partial denial.
(d) Contract.--Before the disbursement of a VETSS grant, the
eligible employer must enter into a contract with the department
in which the eligible employer agrees that the veteran who is
the employee of the eligible employer and whose hiring qualified
the eligible employer for a VETSS grant shall remain employed by
the eligible employer for at least two years following the
disbursement of the VETSS grant. The following apply:
(1) The contract shall be considered a contract with the
Commonwealth.
(2) The contract shall include the following terms:
(i) If the veteran does not remain employed with the
eligible employer for at least two years following
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disbursement of the VETSS grant, the eligible employer
shall be in breach of the contract and subject to the
following penalties:
(A) If the veteran was so employed for less than
one year, the repayment of 100% of the VETSS grant.
(B) If the veteran was so employed for at least
one year but less than two years, the repayment of
50% of the VETSS grant.
(C) Reasonable costs and attorney fees of a
civil action regarding the breach of contract.
(ii) If, after receiving a VETSS grant and during
the two-year period described under subparagraph (i), an
employer ceases to meet the requirements under paragraphs
(1) and (2) of the definition of "eligible employer," the
employer shall be subject to repayment of the entire
amount of the VETSS grant.
(iii) The eligible employer shall permit the
department to determine compliance with the employment
requirement and all other terms of the contract.
(e) Limitations.--
(1) Subject to paragraph (2):
(i) VETSS grants shall be disbursed on a first-come,
first-served basis determined by the department and until
all money in the fund is exhausted.
(ii) The department shall determine the amount of
each VETSS grant based on the vocation of the veteran
hired by the eligible employer.
(2) The department may set a cap on the amount of a
VETSS grant.
(3) The department may set conditions or restrictions on
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the use of a VETSS grant.
(f) Duty of department.--The department shall implement any
necessary policy or procedure to administer the program.
Section 8. Fund.
(a) Establishment.--The Veterans Entering the Sustainability
Sector Fund is established as a nonlapsing fund in the State
Treasury. Any money remaining in the fund, including interest,
at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General
Fund but shall remain in the fund.
(b) Fund sources.--
(1) Funding for the program shall consist of
appropriations by the General Assembly.
(2) The department may solicit and accept alternative
funding for the program, including Federal money, grants,
donations, gifts and other payments from any source.
(3) Money for the program shall be deposited into the
fund.
(c) Appropriation.--All money deposited into the fund and
interest earned on the money in the fund are appropriated to the
department on a continuing basis to award grants under the
program.
Section 9. Reports.
(a) Submittal.--No later than the March 1 that is at least
one year after the effective date of this section and each March
1 thereafter, the department shall submit a report on the
program to the following:
(1) The Governor.
(2) The Secretary of Agriculture.
(3) The Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources.
(4) The Secretary of Environmental Protection.
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(5) The Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs.
(6) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate.
(7) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives.
(8) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the
Senate.
(9) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the
House of Representatives.
(b) Contents.--Each annual report under this section shall
include the following:
(1) The number of applications received under the
program.
(2) The number of VETSS grants awarded.
(3) The total amount of VETSS grants awarded.
(4) The amount of each VETSS grant awarded by each
vocation that was the subject of the apprentice training.
(5) The number of VETSS grants denied, in whole or in
part, along with the reasons for the denial.
(6) A summary of any breaches of contract regarding the
VETSS grants.
(7) The involvement of the participating departments in
developing and implementing the apprentice training.
(8) The amount remaining in the fund.
(9) Any recommendations by the department or the
participating departments to improve the program.
(c) Posting.--Each annual report under this section shall be
posted on the publicly accessible Internet website of the
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department.
Section 10. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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