SENATE AMENDED PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 3199, 3238 PRINTER'S NO. 3311
No. 2293 Session of 1984
INTRODUCED BY MANDERINO, RYAN, COY, MILLER, IRVIS, PIEVSKY, GALLAGHER, ANGSTADT, WESTON, PETRARCA, PETERSON, MERRY, FREEMAN, AFFLERBACH, GANNON, DeLUCA, GRUITZA, KASUNIC, DALEY, WILLIAMS, CESSAR, GEIST, COHEN, TRELLO, WAMBACH, HALUSKA, WASS, JOHNSON, FATTAH, STEIGHNER, WOGAN, DeVERTER, TELEK, SAURMAN, R. C. WRIGHT, JACKSON, SCHEETZ, HERSHEY, GRUPPO, BOOK, SWIFT, ROBBINS, REINARD, COLE, WACHOB, GEORGE, COSLETT, SERAFINI, GREENWOOD, McHALE, NOYE, STAIRS, DAVIES, MICHLOVIC, RYBAK, PISTELLA, KUKOVICH, BALDWIN, SHOWERS, CAPPABIANCA, McCALL, PRATT, STEWART, WOZNIAK, CORDISCO, PRESTON, BATTISTO, KOSINSKI, DEAL, RAPPAPORT, OLIVER, SEVENTY, CLARK, DUFFY, MRKONIC, SWEET, GAMBLE, RICHARDSON, MAYERNIK, PHILLIPS, MACKOWSKI, MOWERY, SEMMEL, CIVERA, MICOZZIE, HOEFFEL, LLOYD, ITKIN, COWELL, DOMBROWSKI, D. R. WRIGHT, KENNEDY, BROUJOS AND FEE, JUNE 13, 1984
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, IN SENATE, JUNE 26, 1984
AN ACT 1 Establishing the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps; AND MAKING AN <-- 2 APPROPRIATION. 3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 4 hereby enacts as follows: 5 Section 1. Short title. 6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Pennsylvania 7 Conservation Corps Act. 8 Section 2. Definitions. 9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
1 "Corps." The Pennsylvania Conservation Corps. 2 "Corpsmember." A participant in the corps pursuant to 3 criteria set forth in section 6. 4 "Crewleader." A participant in the corps who is employed to 5 supervise corpsmembers pursuant to criteria set forth in section 6 8(c). 7 "Department." The Department of Environmental Resources. 8 "Local agency." Any political subdivision located within 9 this Commonwealth. 10 "Secretary." The Secretary of the Department of 11 Environmental Resources. 12 "State agencies." The Fish Commission, Game Commission, 13 Historical and Museum Commission, Department of Environmental 14 Resources, Department of Military Affairs and, in the case of 15 job search skills and job application skills, the Department of 16 Labor and Industry. 17 Section 3. Pennsylvania Conservation Corps created. 18 There is hereby created within the Department of 19 Environmental Resources the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps. 20 Section 4. Duties of the secretary. 21 The secretary shall: 22 (1) Employ eligible participants pursuant to section 6 23 in work experience projects. 24 (2) Employ crewleaders pursuant to section 8. 25 (3) Appoint a director who shall act as the 26 administrative officer of the corps. The director shall 27 employ staff necessary to implement the provisions of this 28 act. 29 (4) Develop or review proposed work experience projects 30 submitted to the department by State and local agencies and 19840H2293B3311 - 2 -
1 approve projects that meet the requirements of this act. 2 State agencies eligible to submit work experience projects 3 shall be limited to the Fish Commission, Game Commission, 4 Historical and Museum Commission, Department of Environmental 5 Resources and Department of Military Affairs. The secretary 6 shall insure that work experience projects involve labor 7 intensive improvement activities on public lands or 8 facilities that will result in a future public value and have 9 a potential for future revenue yield. Projects approved by 10 the secretary shall include projects authorized and funded 11 under the under the act of (P.L. , No. ), known as 12 the Recreational Improvement and Rehabilitation Act. 13 (5) Authorize utilization of the corps for approved work 14 experience projects in urban, suburban and rural areas as 15 necessary to carry out the provisions of this act. 16 (6) Execute employment contracts with State and local 17 agencies containing any terms and conditions deemed necessary 18 and desirable for the employment of corpsmembers in approved 19 work experience projects; and in the case of job search 20 skills and job application skills, execute contracts or 21 cooperative agreements with Federal, State or local agencies, 22 persons, firms, partnerships, associations or corporations 23 for the provisions of these services. 24 (7) Authorize utilization of the corps for emergency 25 projects which shall include, but not be limited to, natural 26 disasters, fire prevention and suppression and rescue of lost 27 or injured persons. Corpsmember participation in emergency 28 projects shall be voluntary. Corpsmembers shall receive 29 adequate training prior to participating in an emergency 30 project. 19840H2293B3311 - 3 -
1 (8) Apply for and accept grants or contributions of 2 funds from any public or private source, including the 3 acceptance of Federal funds appropriated by the General 4 Assembly. 5 (9) Purchase, rent or otherwise acquire or obtain 6 personal property, supplies, instruments, tools, equipment or 7 conveniences necessary to complete work experience projects. 8 (10) Develop program guidelines OR REGULATIONS as it <-- 9 deems necessary to fairly and effectively administer this 10 act. 11 Section 5. Work experience projects. 12 (a) Purpose.--The secretary shall ensure that each work 13 experience project established pursuant to the authority granted 14 in section 4 shall provide corpsmembers with job training skills 15 which may include job search skills and job applications skills, 16 and with work experience related to the conservation, 17 improvement or development of natural resources or the 18 enhancement, preservation and maintenance of public lands, water 19 or facilities. Job training may be provided directly by the 20 agency administering the work experience project or by other 21 agencies as provided in subsection (d). 22 (b) Project criteria.--Work experience projects shall be 23 undertaken in urban, suburban and rural areas and shall be 24 selected on the basis of the environmental and natural resource 25 benefits each offers, the opportunities for public use each 26 offers, the on-the-job training value of each, the future public 27 value of the completed project, and the estimated additional 28 revenue to be generated for the Commonwealth or its subdivisions 29 from the completion of each project. 30 (c) Use of lands; exceptions.--All work experience projects 19840H2293B3311 - 4 -
1 developed or approved and funded by the department shall be 2 limited to public lands and facilities except where a property 3 involving other lands will provide documented public value or 4 benefit. Reimbursement must be provided to the department for 5 that portion of the total costs which does not provide a public 6 benefit. The reimbursement will be retained by the department 7 for use in the corps program. In the case of emergencies and 8 natural disaster, projects may take place on land or at 9 facilities not owned by the department, other State agencies or 10 local agencies without regard to public benefit and private 11 reimbursement. 12 (d) Coordinated services.--Whenever available and 13 appropriate, job training and placement services provided 14 through other Federal, State and local funded programs such as 15 the Job Training Partnership Act Program, the Community Services 16 Block Grant and the Office of Employment Security shall be 17 coordinated with projects developed under this act to assist 18 eligible participants. Coordinated services may include, but are 19 not limited to, job placement assistance, adult literacy 20 training, job search skills, and job application skills. 21 Whenever possible, eligible participants without a high school 22 diploma shall receive coordinated services that provide an 23 opportunity to obtain an equivalent high school diploma. 24 (e) Standards.--Work sites of work experience projects shall 25 conform to appropriate health and safety standards. 26 (f) Projects not permitted.--Work experience shall not 27 include work on any project for removal or cleaning up of any 28 toxic waste or other hazardous substance. 29 Section 6. Eligibility for program. 30 (a) Criteria.--Persons participating in the corps program 19840H2293B3311 - 5 -
1 shall be young men and women who are: 2 (1) Between the ages of 18 and 21. 3 (2) Economically disadvantaged. 4 (3) Domiciled in the Commonwealth for at least six 5 months prior to participating in the program. 6 (4) Registered with the Office of Employment Security 7 for employment. 8 (5) Physically and mentally capable of performing labor 9 intensive work. 10 (6) Not attending high school or postsecondary 11 institution full time and who provide assurance that they did 12 not leave school for the purpose of participating in the 13 program. Full-time high school and postsecondary students may 14 participate in this program during authorized school 15 vacations. 16 (b) Referrals.--Eligibility for corpsmembers shall be 17 determined by the Office of Employment Security which shall 18 refer eligible participants to the department. If the number of 19 corps jobs is insufficient to employ all eligible individuals 20 who apply for participation in the program, the Office of 21 Employment Security may provide the names of these eligible 22 individuals to private sector employers or to job training 23 programs requesting referrals, so long as the individuals 24 referred agree to the referral being provided. 25 Section 7. Compensation. 26 (a) Six month term.--Corpsmembers shall be employed for a 27 period not to exceed six months. The department shall refer the 28 names of corpsmembers who successfully complete their employment 29 in the corps to the Office of Employment Security for assistance 30 in securing private sector employment or for enrollment in 19840H2293B3311 - 6 -
1 additional job training programs. The department may also 2 provide the names of participants who successfully complete 3 their employment in the corps to private sector employers 4 requesting referrals, with the approval of the participant. 5 (b) Minimum wage.--Corpsmembers shall receive an hourly wage 6 no less than the State minimum wage as provided for by the act 7 of January 17, 1968 (P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage 8 Act of 1968. 9 (c) Benefits.--Corpsmembers shall not be entitled to any 10 employee benefits provided to existing employees of the 11 department or other agencies except for workmen's compensation 12 coverage which shall be provided through the funds appropriated 13 to carry out this act, NOR SHALL SERVICE AS A CORPSMEMBER <-- 14 QUALIFY AN INDIVIDUAL FOR BENEFITS UNDER THE ACT OF DECEMBER 5, 15 1936 (2ND SP.SESS., 1937 P.L.2897, NO.1), KNOWN AS THE 16 UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION LAW. 17 (d) Work hours.--Corpsmembers shall be scheduled to work the 18 standard work hours of the department or of the State or local 19 agency sponsoring the work experience project. In no instance 20 shall corpsmembers be scheduled to work more than 40 hours per 21 week. Corpsmembers may request and shall be excused for a 22 maximum of ten hours per week from scheduled work hours to 23 participate in job training and placement services which the 24 department determines are in accordance with the provisions of 25 this act. Corpsmembers shall be compensated as set forth in 26 subsection (b) for participating in job training and placement 27 services which the department determines are in accordance with 28 the provisions of this act. 29 Section 8. Supervisors. 30 (a) Personnel.--Whenever possible, the department and other 19840H2293B3311 - 7 -
1 State and local agencies shall use existing employees to 2 supervise the participants working on projects. No funds 3 available for this program shall be expended for the salaries, 4 wages or benefits paid to these existing employees. 5 (b) Funding.--If it is determined by the secretary that 6 supervision of corpsmembers is necessary to carry out corps 7 projects in the department or other State or local agencies, 8 funds available for this program may be expended to pay the 9 wages of crewleaders who shall supervise corpsmembers as 10 prescribed by the department. 11 (c) Crewleader criteria.--Persons eligible to be hired as 12 crewleaders by the department shall be men and women who are: 13 (1) Domiciled in the Commonwealth for at least six 14 months prior to employment in the programs. 15 (2) Registered with the Office of Employment Security 16 for employment. 17 (3) Physically and mentally capable of performing labor 18 intensive work and supervisory duties. 19 (4) Not attending a postsecondary institution full time 20 and who provides assurance that they did not leave school for 21 the purpose of employment as a supervisor in the program. 22 (d) Six-month term.--Crewleaders may be employed by the 23 department for a period that may exceed the six-month limit 24 established for corpsmembers. 25 (e) Hourly wage.--Crewleaders shall receive an hourly wage 26 that does not exceed the hourly wage of corpsmembers by more 27 than $2.00. 28 (f) Benefits.--Crewleaders shall not be entitled to any 29 employee benefits provided to existing employees of the 30 department or of other State or local agencies except for 19840H2293B3311 - 8 -
1 workmen's compensation coverage which shall be provided through 2 the funds appropriated to carry out this act, NOR SHALL SERVICE <-- 3 AS A CREWLEADER QUALIFY AN INDIVIDUAL FOR BENEFITS UNDER THE ACT 4 OF DECEMBER 5, 1936 (2ND SP.SESS., 1937 P.L.2897, NO.1), KNOWN 5 AS THE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION LAW. 6 (g) Veterans' preference.--In the hiring of crewleaders, 7 preference shall be given to honorably discharged veterans of 8 the armed forces of the United States. 9 Section 9. Prohibited activities. 10 The secretary in developing and approving projects, shall 11 assure that: 12 (1) In employment practices, no individual will be 13 discriminated against because of the individual's race, 14 color, religious creed, ancestry, sex, national origin or 15 nonjob related handicap or disability. 16 (2) No person shall make any payment to any other person 17 as compensation for referring an individual as a potential 18 corpsmember. 19 (3) Work available to participants will not be available 20 due to a labor dispute, strike or lockout and shall not be 21 assigned so as to cause a layoff or downgrading or to prevent 22 the return to work of an available competent employee. 23 (4) It shall be unlawful for anyone to demand from any 24 public officer, a corpsmember or crewleader any assessment or 25 percentage of any money or profit, or its equivalent in 26 support, service or any other thing of value, with the 27 understanding, express or implied, that the same may be used 28 or shall be used for political purposes. Nothing contained in 29 this act shall be construed to prohibit voluntary 30 contributions to any political committee or organization for 19840H2293B3311 - 9 -
1 legitimate political and campaign purposes to the extent such 2 contributions are not prohibited by law. 3 Section 10. Annual report. 4 On March 1, 1985, and each year thereafter during the 5 program's existence, the secretary shall report to the Chief 6 Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 7 Senate on the cumulative impact of the program. The report shall 8 include, but not be limited to: 9 (1) Productivity measures by the type of project funded. 10 (2) The number of corpsmembers employed. 11 (3) The average length of employment. 12 (4) The extent of job training provided to participants. 13 (5) The number of participants who find employment after 14 completion of the project. 15 (6) Estimated total dollar value of completed work 16 projects by type of project. 17 (7) Estimated potential revenue from projects completed 18 by corpsmembers. 19 (8) Percentage increase in estimated value of sites 20 constructed or rehabilitated by corpsmembers. 21 (9) Estimated amount of dollar benefits in excess of 22 dollar costs resulting from the program. 23 All recipients of funds for approved projects shall provide the 24 information requested by the department for the purposes of this 25 report. 26 SECTION 11. GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS. <-- 27 (A) ONE-YEAR EXEMPTION FROM REVIEW.--IN ORDER TO FACILITATE 28 THE SPEEDY IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PROGRAM, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL 29 HAVE THE POWER AND AUTHORITY TO PROMULGATE, ADOPT AND USE 30 GUIDELINES WHICH SHALL BE PUBLISHED IN THE PENNSYLVANIA 19840H2293B3311 - 10 -
1 BULLETIN. THE GUIDELINES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO REVIEW PURSUANT 2 TO SECTION 205 OF THE ACT OF JULY 31, 1968 (P.L.769, NO.240), 3 REFERRED TO AS THE COMMONWEALTH DOCUMENTS LAW, SECTIONS 204(B) 4 AND 301(10) OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 15, 1980 (P.L.950, NO.164), 5 KNOWN AS THE COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEYS ACT, OR THE ACT OF JUNE 25, 6 1982 (P.L.633, NO.181), KNOWN AS THE REGULATORY REVIEW ACT, AND 7 EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (C), SHALL BE EFFECTIVE FOR A 8 PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED ONE YEAR FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS 9 ACT. 10 (B) EXPIRATION OF EXEMPTION.--EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN 11 SUBSECTION (C), AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THE ONE-YEAR PERIOD ALL 12 GUIDELINES SHALL EXPIRE AND SHALL BE REPLACED BY REGULATIONS 13 WHICH SHALL HAVE BEEN PROMULGATED, ADOPTED AND PUBLISHED AS 14 PROVIDED BY LAW. 15 (C) EXCEPTION.--THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MAY PROVIDE FOR AN 16 EXTENSION OF THE GUIDELINES ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (A), 17 IF THE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 3 18 AND 4 OF THE ACT OF DECEMBER 22, 1981 (P.L.508, NO.142), KNOWN 19 AS THE SUNSET ACT, EXTENDS THE GUIDELINES ADOPTED PURSUANT TO 20 SUBSECTION (A). 21 Section 11 12. Appropriation. <-- 22 For State fiscal year 1984-1985, the sum of $7,500,000 is 23 hereby appropriated to the Department of Environmental Resources 24 from the Pennsylvania Economic Revitalization Fund. No more than 25 25% of the funds available annually for this program may be 26 expended on work experience projects which are submitted by 27 local agencies and approved by the secretary. No more than 3% of 28 the funds available for this program may be expended on program 29 administration. 30 Section 12 13. Expiration. <-- 19840H2293B3311 - 11 -
1 This act and the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps program 2 shall expire June 30, 1986. 3 Section 13 14. Effective date. <-- 4 This act shall take effect July 1, 1984 IMMEDIATELY. <-- F12L43JAM/19840H2293B3311 - 12 -