[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2468 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2468

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for strategic 
sectoral skills gap assessments, strategic skills gap action plans, and 
  strategic training capacity enhancement seed grants, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2002

  Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for strategic 
sectoral skills gap assessments, strategic skills gap action plans, and 
  strategic training capacity enhancement seed grants, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sectoral Market Assessment for 
Regional Training Enhancement and Revitalization Act''.

SEC. 2. SKILLS GAP CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS.

    Subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
U.S.C. 2811 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 137 as section 138; and
            (2) by inserting after section 136 the following:

``SEC. 137. SKILLS GAP CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS.

    ``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            ``(1) to assist States and local boards in better focusing 
        funds provided under this subtitle on activities and programs 
        that meet the emerging demand for skills in high-quality jobs 
        in area industries;
            ``(2) to enhance the efficiency of the one-stop delivery 
        systems and providers of training services;
            ``(3) to establish and improve partnerships between local 
        boards, industry sectors, economic development agencies, 
        providers of training services (including secondary schools, 
        postsecondary educational institutions, and providers of joint 
        labor-management programs, who are eligible providers under 
        section 122), and other related public and private entities; 
        and
            ``(4) to strengthen integration of workforce development 
        strategies and economic development strategies in States, local 
        areas, and labor markets.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Consortium.--The term `consortium' means a consortium 
        of local boards, established as described in subsection (d)(3).
            ``(2) Region.--The term `region' means 2 or more local 
        areas that comprise a common labor market for an industry 
        sector or group of related occupations.
            ``(3) Training services.--The term `training services' 
        means services described in section 134(d)(4).
    ``(c) Grants to States.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
        States, to enable the States to assist local boards and 
        consortia in carrying out the activities described in 
        subsection (e).
            ``(2) Formula.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make the 
                grants in accordance with the formula used to make 
                grants to States under section 132(b)(1)(B) (other than 
                clause (iv)), subject to subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Small state minimum allotment.--The Secretary 
                shall ensure that no State shall receive an allotment 
                under this paragraph for a fiscal year that is less 
                than \1/2\ of 1 percent of the funds made available to 
                carry out this section for that fiscal year.
    ``(d) Grants to Local Boards.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State that receives a grant under 
        subsection (c)--
                    ``(A) shall use the funds made available through 
                the grant to make grants to local boards and consortia 
                to carry out the activities described in subsection 
                (e); and
                    ``(B) may use the funds made available through the 
                grant, at the election of the State, to prepare 
                strategic sectoral skills gap assessments, as described 
                in subsection (e)(2), in the local areas or regions 
                involved.
            ``(2) Consideration.--In making the grants, the State may 
        take into account the size of the workforce in each local area 
        or region.
            ``(3) Consortia.--States shall encourage local boards to 
        aggregate, to the maximum extent practicable, into consortia 
        representing regions, for purposes of carrying out activities 
        described in subsection (e). Nothing in this paragraph shall be 
        construed to require local boards to aggregate into such 
        consortia.
            ``(4) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
        under this section, a local board or consortium shall submit an 
        application to the State, at such time and in such manner as 
        the State may require, containing--
                    ``(A) information identifying the members of the 
                partnership described in subsection (e)(3) that will 
                carry out the activities described in subsection (e); 
                and
                    ``(B) an assurance that the board or consortium 
                will use, or ensure that the partnership uses, the 
                funds to carry out the activities described in 
                subsection (e).
    ``(e) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A local board or consortium that 
        receives a grant under this section--
                    ``(A) shall ensure that the partnership described 
                in paragraph (3) uses the funds made available through 
                the grant to--
                            ``(i) prepare a strategic sectoral skills 
                        gap assessment, as described in paragraph (2), 
                        unless the State elects to prepare the 
                        assessment;
                            ``(ii) develop a strategic skills gap 
                        action plan, as described in paragraph (4); and
                            ``(iii) provide strategic training capacity 
                        enhancement seed grants to providers of 
                        training services specified in subsection 
                        (a)(3), as described in paragraph (5); and
                    ``(B) may use funds made available through the 
                grant to ensure that activities carried out under this 
                subtitle are carried out in accordance with the 
                strategic skills gap action plan.
            ``(2) Strategic sectoral skills gap assessment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (E), the local board or consortium (or, at 
                the election of the State, that State) shall prepare a 
                strategic sectoral skills gap assessment, which shall--
                            ``(i) identify areas of current and 
                        expected demand for labor and skills in a 
                        specific industry sector or group of related 
                        occupations that is producing high-quality jobs 
                        in the local area or region involved;
                            ``(ii) identify the current and expected 
                        supply of labor and skills in that specific 
                        sector or group in the local area or region; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) identify gaps between the current 
                        and expected demand and supply of labor and 
                        skills in that specific sector or group in the 
                        local area or region.
                    ``(B) Specific contents.--The assessment shall 
                contain data regarding--
                            ``(i)(I) specific high-quality employment 
                        opportunities offered by industries in the 
                        local area or region; and
                            ``(II) specific skills desired for such 
                        opportunities;
                            ``(ii)(I) occupations and positions in the 
                        local area or region that are difficult to 
                        fill; and
                            ``(II) specific skills desired for such 
                        occupations and positions;
                            ``(iii)(I) areas of growth and decline 
                        among industries and occupations in the local 
                        area or region; and
                            ``(II) specific skills desired for such 
                        growth areas; and
                            ``(iv) specific inventories of skills of 
                        unemployed or underemployed individuals in the 
                        local area or region.
                    ``(C) Information.--The assessment shall contain 
                current (as of the date of preparation of the 
                assessment) information and information that is 
                specific to employers or labor organizations. To the 
                maximum extent possible, the information shall be 
                regularly updated information.
                    ``(D) Survey.--The assessment shall contain the 
                results of a survey of employers and labor 
                organizations in the local area or region. The survey 
                results shall include information from major employers 
                and labor organizations in the local area or region.
                    ``(E) Exception.--
                            ``(i) State.--A State shall not be required 
                        to use the funds made available through a grant 
                        received under this section, to prepare an 
                        assessment described in this paragraph.
                            ``(ii) Local board or consortium.--A local 
                        board or consortium shall not be required to 
                        use the funds made available through a grant 
received under this section, to prepare an assessment described in this 
paragraph, if the local board or consortium demonstrates that, within 
the 2 years prior to receiving the grant, an assessment that meets the 
requirements of this paragraph has been prepared for the local area or 
region involved.
            ``(3) Skills partnership.--In carrying out this section, 
        local boards and consortia shall enter into partnerships that 
        include--
                    ``(A) representatives of the local boards for the 
                local area or region involved;
                    ``(B) representatives of employers for a specific 
                industry sector or group of related occupations, and 
                related sectors or occupations, identified through the 
                assessment described in paragraph (2) as having 
                identified gaps between the current and expected demand 
                and supply of labor and skills in the industry sector 
                or group of related occupations in the local area or 
                region involved;
                    ``(C) representatives of economic development 
                agencies for the local area or region;
                    ``(D) representatives of providers of training 
                services described in subsection (a)(3) in the local 
                area or region; and
                    ``(E) representatives nominated by State labor 
                federations or local labor federations.
            ``(4) Strategic skills gap action plan.--The partnership 
        shall develop a strategic skills gap action plan, based on the 
        assessment, that--
                    ``(A)(i) identifies specific barriers to adequate 
                supply of labor and skills in demand in a specific 
                industry sector or group of related occupations that is 
                producing high-quality jobs in the local area or region 
                involved; and
                    ``(ii) identifies activities (which may include the 
                provision of needed supportive services) that will 
                remove or alleviate the barriers described in clause 
                (i) that could be undertaken by one-stop operators and 
                providers of training services described in subsection 
                (a)(3); and
                    ``(B) specifies how the local board (or consortium) 
                and economic development agencies in the partnership 
                will integrate the board's or consortium's workforce 
                development strategies with local or regional economic 
                development strategies.
            ``(5) Strategic training capacity enhancement seed 
        grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The local board or consortium, 
                after consultation with the partnership, shall make 
                grants to one-stop operators and providers of training 
                services described in subsection (a)(3) to pay for the 
                Federal share of the cost of--
                            ``(i) developing curricula to meet needs 
                        identified in the assessment described in 
                        paragraph (2) and to overcome barriers 
                        identified in the plan described in paragraph 
                        (4); and
                            ``(ii) modifying the programs of training 
                        services offered by the providers in order to 
                        meet those needs and overcome those barriers.
                    ``(B) Federal share.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Federal share of the 
                        cost described in subparagraph (A) shall be 75 
                        percent.
                            ``(ii) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal 
                        share of the cost may be provided in cash or in 
                        kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, 
                        equipment, or services.''.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is amended by striking the item 
relating to section 137 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 137. Skills gap capacity enhancement grants.
``Sec. 138. Authorization of appropriations.''.
    (b) References to Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Youth activities.--Subsections (a) and (b)(1) of 
        section 127 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
        2852) are amended by striking ``section 137(a)'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``section 138(a)''.
            (2) Adult employment and training activities.--Section 
        132(a)(1) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
        2862(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``section 137(b)'' and 
        inserting ``section 138(b)''.
            (3) Dislocated worker employment and training activities.--
        Subsections (a)(2) and (b)(2)(A)(i) of section 132 of the 
        Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2862) are amended 
        by striking ``section 137(c)'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``section 138(c)''.
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