[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1660 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1660

 To amend the National Apprenticeship Act to provide that applications 
relating to apprenticeship programs are processed in a fair and timely 
                    manner, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 8, 2003

 Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Hinojosa, and Mr. McKeon) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the National Apprenticeship Act to provide that applications 
relating to apprenticeship programs are processed in a fair and timely 
                    manner, 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 ``Apprenticeship Enhancement Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to promote accountability and fairness 
in the approval of apprenticeship programs and registration of 
apprentices and to provide for the certification and registration of 
all apprenticeship programs in a timely and efficient manner.

SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION OF 
              APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS.

    The National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    ``(a) Procedures Required.--The Secretary of Labor shall ensure the 
following:
            ``(1) That for each apprenticeship application submitted to 
        an entity responsible for rendering decisions with respect to 
        that application (such as a State Apprenticeship Council or 
        Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training)--
                    ``(A) that entity shall render a decision on that 
                application before the expiration of the period of 90 
                calendar days beginning on the date on which that 
                application was submitted; or
                    ``(B) if that entity cannot comply with 
                subparagraph (A), that entity shall provide written 
                notice to the applicant of the status of the 
                application, and render a decision on that application 
                before the expiration of the period of 120 calendar 
                days beginning on the date on which that application 
                was submitted; or
                    ``(C) if that entity cannot comply with 
                subparagraph (B), the application shall be deemed a 
                petition for review filed under paragraph (4) by the 
                applicant on the date after the expiration of the 
                period referred to in subparagraph (B).
            ``(2) That each decision described in paragraph (1) shall 
        be rendered without sole regard to whether persons not directly 
        participating in or sponsoring the application object to the 
        application.
            ``(3) That each decision described in paragraph (1) shall 
        be promptly provided to all concerned parties in a writing that 
        sets forth clearly the factual and legal basis for the 
        decision.
            ``(4) That any applicant aggrieved by a decision rendered 
        under paragraph (1) shall be entitled to file a petition for 
        review from that decision before the Secretary or the 
        Secretary's designee within the Department of Labor, which 
        shall be independent of the entity rendering that decision.
            ``(5) That in the event of any factual dispute on a 
        petition for review, the applicant may request an adjudicatory 
        hearing, which shall be conducted on the record pursuant to 
        sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(6) That the Secretary (or designee, if applicable) 
        shall, before the expiration of the period of 30 days beginning 
        on the date that the applicant filed the petition for review 
        (or, if the applicant requested an adjudicatory hearing, the 
        date of the end of that hearing), make a final determination 
        and deliver a copy of that determination to all concerned 
        parties. Such final determination shall be binding on the 
        entity responsible for rendering the decision under paragraph 
        (1).
            ``(7) That if the Secretary (or designee, if applicable) 
        fails to make such final determination before the expiration of 
        such period, such final determination shall be deemed to be to 
        approve the application.
    ``(b) Judicial Review.--A final determination under subsection 
(a)(6) shall be binding on the applicant unless the affected applicant 
files a petition for judicial review of that final determination. 
Judicial review of that determination shall be on the record on which 
the final determination is based.
    ``(c) Apprenticeship Application.--For purposes of this section, 
the term `apprenticeship application' includes any application for 
approval, certification, or registration of an apprentice or 
apprenticeship program.''.

SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.

    The amendment made by section 3 of this Act shall apply to all 
applications filed after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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