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PRINTER'S NO. 3669
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2464
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY PUSKARIC, ZIMMERMAN, BERNSTINE, JONES AND KEEFER,
APRIL 29, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, APRIL 29, 2020
AN ACT
Amending Title 12 (Commerce and Trade) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, consolidating Chapter 29 of the act of
June 29, 1996 (P.L.434, No.67), known as the Job Enhancement
Act; making a related repeal; and making an editorial change.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The heading of Chapter 27 of Title 12 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
CHAPTER 27
CUSTOMIZED JOB TRAINING
[(Reserved)]
Section 2. Title 12 is amended by adding sections to read:
§ 2701. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Applicant." Any of the following:
(1) A local education agency.
(2) An industrial resource center.
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(3) An economic development organization.
(4) A greenhouse.
(5) A private company.
(6) A local workforce investment board.
"Capital investment." An expenditure for land, buildings,
renovations, machinery and equipment which is directly related
to the need for the proposed training.
"Developer." Any person, partnership, corporation or other
for-profit business entity or any nonprofit corporation that
promotes or constructs industrial development projects and is
engaged in the development of real estate for use by more than
one company.
"Economic development organization." As follows:
(1) An entity certified by the department.
(2) An area loan organization.
(3) An industrial development corporation.
"Educational institution." Any of the following:
(1) An area career and technical school.
(2) A community or junior college.
(3) An intermediate unit.
(4) A licensed private/proprietary business or trade
school.
(5) A public school district.
(6) A State or private college or university.
"Greenhouse." A nonprofit organization recognized under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public
Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)) that is formed for the
express purpose of creating university and business partnerships
to advance science and technology and to support economic and
workforce development.
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"Industrial resource center." An industrial resource center
as defined in section 2 of the act of June 22, 2001 (P.L.400,
No.31), known as the Industrial Resources Center Partnership
Act.
"Labor organization." As follows:
(1) An organization, agency or employee representation
committee or plan in which employees participate and that
exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with
disputes between an employer and the employer's employees
involving grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay,
hours of employment or conditions of work.
(2) The term does not include an organization, agency,
committee or plan that practices discrimination in membership
because of race, color, creed, national origin, sex or
political affiliation.
"Local education agency." An educational institution located
in this Commonwealth and certified by the Department of
Education.
"Local workforce investment board." An entity recommended
for certification by the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board
and certified by the Governor in accordance with the act of
December 18, 2001 (P.L.949, No.114), known as the Workforce
Development Act.
"Private company." As follows:
(1) A business, professional service company or other
enterprise.
(2) The term includes a group of two or more private
companies operating as a consortium in order to take
advantage of a common training program.
(3) The term does not include a point-of-sale retail
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business.
"Private matching fund." A new private investment made by a
company or developer in a facility or infrastructure improvement
at the site of the enterprise as provided by the department in
guidelines under section 2109 (relating to guidelines).
"Program." The Customized Job Training Program continued
under this chapter.
"Trainee." An individual who is an employee or prospective
employee and is enrolled in an eligible training program that is
designed to enable the individual to obtain or retain
employment.
"Training program." As follows:
(1) A systematic program that is designed to provide a
trainee with the skills and knowledge necessary to meet a
private company's or labor organization's specifications for
an occupation or trade, the successful completion of which
results in any of the following:
(i) The trainee being employed or continuing to be
employed full time by that private company.
(ii) A trainee receiving instruction or training
related to an occupation with a shortage of skilled
workers or a growth industry specified under section
2705(3)(i) (relating to approval of applications and
award of grants).
(2) A training program may involve instruction:
(i) within a local education agency;
(ii) within a private company or on-the-job
training;
(iii) within a training program of a labor
organization;
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(iv) through technology-based instruction; or
(v) a combination of any of the instruction
specified under subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv).
§ 2702. Customized Job Training Program.
(a) Program continuation.--The Customized Job Training
Program is continued within the department. Money appropriated
to the department for the program shall be used to provide
grants for training programs.
(b) Departmental responsibilities.--The department shall do
all of the following:
(1) Administer the program.
(2) Review, approve and award grants to applicants in
accordance with sections 2704 (relating to review of
applications) and 2705 (relating to approval of applications
and award of grants).
(3) Enter into one or more partnerships with one or more
local education agencies or other training providers in
accordance with section 2707 (relating to partnerships).
(4) Establish, at the beginning of each fiscal year, a
reserve not to exceed 25% of the money appropriated to the
department for the program for the use of small business
applicants. Uncommitted funds in the reserve after March 1 of
a fiscal year may be made available to an applicant.
(5) Establish a private matching fund requirement for
applicants. The following shall apply:
(i) The department shall establish the private
matching fund requirement for applicants that are private
companies or labor organizations at not less than 25% of
the total eligible training project cost.
(ii) The department may establish different matching
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fund requirements for a small business, as defined in
section 2302 (relating to definitions), and a labor
organization.
§ 2703. Applications.
(a) Provisions of application.--An applicant may submit an
application to the department for a grant to fund a training
program in accordance with the following:
(1) If an application is submitted by an industrial
resource center or economic development organization, the
industrial resource center or economic development
organization may apply for a grant on behalf of a private
company, greenhouse or labor organization. An economic
development organization may not serve as the direct training
provider of the trainees.
(2) If an application is submitted by a local workforce
investment board, the local workforce investment board may
apply for a grant only on behalf of projects that promote
local education agency and private company partnerships or
private company and private company partnerships.
(3) If an application to train entry-level employees is
submitted by or on behalf of a private company, the applicant
shall demonstrate that the private company has contacted the
local workforce investment board and the local county board
of assistance to solicit referrals of candidates for the
training program.
(4) If an application is submitted by any other person,
the application shall satisfy the requirements established by
the department.
(b) Requirements of application.--An application shall:
(1) Demonstrate that the applicant considered other
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available resources, including private sector money, other
State or local agency training programs or money made
available under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(Public Law 113-128, 128 Stat. 1425) or other Federal
programs that provide funds for employment training.
(2) Contain a description of the proposed training or
instructional program to be carried out.
(3) Disclose if an applicant intends to contract with
other organizations or individuals for the provision of all
or a portion of the services to be provided and, if
disclosed, contain a request to allocate a portion of the
grant from the applicant to the subcontractor.
(4) Include a written commitment from the applicant to
invest private matching funds in the training project.
§ 2704. Review of applications.
The department shall review an application and may request
from the applicant and the applicant's training provider
additional information and records as it deems necessary to
carry out responsibilities under this chapter.
§ 2705. Approval of applications and award of grants.
The department may approve and award grants to applicants in
accordance with all of the following:
(1) The department must find that the applicant has
satisfied the applicable matching fund requirement and that
the grant will be used by the applicant to provide training
or instruction only to Commonwealth residents.
(2) The department must find that the grant will result
in any of the following objectives:
(i) The location or expansion of a private company
or greenhouse within this Commonwealth with the creation
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of jobs paying competitive wages and the private company
or greenhouse making capital expenditures.
(ii) The expansion or upgrade of existing jobs that
result in increased wages for the jobs.
(iii) The retention of jobs in this Commonwealth
that would otherwise be lost.
(iv) The promotion of local education agency and
private company partnerships and private company and
private company partnerships if a direct connection
between the development of skills and subsequent
employment by one or more private companies can be
demonstrated.
(v) The promotion of efforts by a labor organization
to upgrade the skills of the labor organization's
members.
(3) The department shall give priority to those
applications that have any of the following characteristics:
(i) The application would establish a training
program determined by the department to be in a growth
industry vital to this Commonwealth's competitiveness.
These industries include:
(A) Agribusiness.
(B) Advanced manufacturing.
(C) Advanced materials.
(D) Life sciences.
(E) Biotechnology and health care.
(F) Environmental technology.
(G) Information technology.
(ii) The application is submitted on behalf of a
private company or labor organization that is located:
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(A) in a municipality in which the average
unemployment rate in the most recently completed
calendar year is above the Statewide average
unemployment rate for the same period;
(B) in a State-designated enterprise zone; or
(C) in a municipality or region that has
suffered a significant loss of jobs due to one or
more major plant closings, layoffs or natural or man-
made disasters.
(iii) The application is submitted by or on behalf
of a private company that plans to create 50 or more jobs
and that is making a capital investment of at least
$1,000,000.
(4) The department may determine that the grant will be
used by the applicant to reimburse the cost of training.
Costs may include instructional costs, costs of instructional
or training material or software, costs associated with
tuition reimbursement and reasonable administrative costs as
determined by the department.
§ 2706. Limitations.
(a) Department.--The department may not do any of the
following:
(1) Award grants under this chapter that in the
aggregate exceed the amount of the annual appropriations to
the department for the program.
(2) Award more than 10% of the money appropriated to the
program in any one fiscal year to any one private company,
greenhouse or labor organization, including any affiliates
thereof.
(3) Award a grant to or on behalf of a private company
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or labor organization, including any affiliates thereof, for
more than two successive fiscal years and for no more than
three out of every five fiscal years.
(b) Recipients.--A recipient of a grant may not do any of
the following:
(1) Use a grant to do any of the following:
(i) Pay wages of trainees during training.
(ii) Pay costs associated with building construction
or renovation or the acquisition, upgrade or installation
of equipment or machinery, including computer equipment.
(2) Use a grant to reduce the workforce or displace
workers of a private company prior to the commencement of a
training program except because the introduction of new
manufacturing techniques, technology and modernization may
lead to short-term reductions in a private company's
workforce. The secretary may waive this grant limitation if
the long-term economic benefits to be gained by the private
company significantly exceed the short-term detriment to the
private company's workforce.
(3) Use a grant to violate a condition of an existing
collective bargaining agreement.
(4) Use a grant for point-of-sale retail job training.
§ 2707. Partnerships.
(a) Partnership agreements.--If the department determines
that a training program is more effectively delivered through a
partnership, the department may enter into partnership
agreements with one or more local education agencies or other
training providers to provide the training program.
(b) Contents of training programs.--The training programs
under subsection (a) shall consist of basic and entry-level
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skills, technology skill training, training related to job
retention or other specified training assistance.
(c) Authorization of department.--Under a partnership
arrangement, the department may:
(1) limit the number and category of applicants that may
submit applications for assistance; and
(2) establish minimal standards and requirements for
project eligibility. The requirements may be separate and
distinct from the requirements established under this
chapter, except that section 2706 (relating to limitations)
shall apply to all training programs funded under this
chapter.
§ 2708. Compliance with statutes and collective bargaining
agreements.
(a) Compliance generally.--The department shall require each
person receiving a grant under this chapter to comply with
applicable Federal and State statutes governing employment
discrimination, minority recruitment, minimum or prevailing
wages, work site safety and procurement practices.
(b) Certification.--The department shall require each
private company receiving a grant under this chapter to certify
that the private company's training program does not abridge any
contractual agreement between the private company and the
collective bargaining representative of the private company's
employees.
§ 2709. Penalties and investigations.
(a) Private company.--Unless the department determines that
a private company's failure is due to circumstances outside the
control of the private company, the private company shall be
liable to repay all or part of the amount of a grant awarded
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under this chapter if the private company does any of the
following:
(1) Fails to create the number of jobs specified in the
private company's agreement with or commitment to the
department.
(2) Fails to make the amount of capital investment
specified in the application to the department.
(3) Fails to substantially carry out the training
program approved by the department.
(b) Applicants.--An applicant or subcontractor that fails to
provide for or to perform a training program approved by the
department may be required to repay to the department money that
the applicant or subcontractor received under a grant awarded by
the department.
(c) Investigation.--Upon receiving a complaint from a
private company, greenhouse, labor organization or trainee as to
the inadequacy of training received, the department may initiate
an investigation and take appropriate action, including the
recovery of grant money expended.
Section 3. Repeals are as follows:
(1) The General Assembly declares that the repeal under
paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate the amendment of 12
Pa.C.S. Ch. 27.
(2) Chapter 29 of the act of June 29, 1996 (P.L.434,
No.67), known as the Job Enhancement Act, is repealed.
Section 4. The amendment of 12 Pa.C.S. Ch. 27 is a
continuation of Chapter 29 of the act of June 29, 1996 (P.L.434,
No.67), known as the Job Enhancement Act. The following apply:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in 12 Pa.C.S. Ch. 27,
all activities initiated under Chapter 29 of the Job
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Enhancement Act shall continue and remain in full force and
effect and may be completed under 12 Pa.C.S. Ch. 27. Orders,
regulations, rules and decisions which were made under
Chapter 29 of the Job Enhancement Act and which are in effect
on the effective date of section 3(2) of this act shall
remain in full force and effect until revoked, vacated or
modified under 12 Pa.C.S. Ch. 27. Contracts, obligations and
collective bargaining agreements entered into under Chapter
29 of the Job Enhancement Act are not affected nor impaired
by the repeal of Chapter 29 of the Job Enhancement Act.
(2) Any difference in language between 12 Pa.C.S. Ch. 27
and Chapter 29 of the Job Enhancement Act is intended only to
conform to the style of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes and is not intended to change or affect the
legislative intent, judicial construction or administration
and implementation of Chapter 29 of the Job Enhancement Act.
Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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