The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Carla S. Roberts. DIGEST SB 158 Original 2018 Regular Session Colomb Present law provides that the La. director of apprenticeship will, in cooperation with the apprenticeship council, set up conditions and training standards for apprentice agreements, which will in no case be lower than those prescribed by the Office of Apprenticeship, U.S. Dept. of Labor, or lower than approved national standards. Present law requires that the La. Dept. of Economic Development certify state monetary incentives given to businesses that participate in various economic development programs that are enacted by the legislature. Present law defines "economic development program" as any state program that directly or indirectly confers fiscal benefits on employers located in the state for the purposes of retraining and creating jobs and growing the state's economy. Economic development programs include grants, loan guarantees, tax exemptions, exclusions, credits, or rebates. Proposed law retains present law but requires that, beginning Aug. 1, 2018, any employer who participates in an economic development program and receives fiscal benefits from the state of La. for the construction of a new facility or the expansion of an existing facility to designate no less than 2% of the man-hours in any apprenticeable occupation to registered apprentices. Present law provides that the director of apprenticeship will approve all apprenticeship agreements that meet the standards established in present law. Proposed law retains present law but requires that the director of apprenticeship also approve the apprenticeship agreements under proposed law. Proposed law provides that if the executive director of the La. Workforce Commission determines in good faith that an insufficient number of registered apprentices are available for a particular construction project, the executive director will certify the number of registered apprentices who are available for the particular construction project and will issue a waiver for the remaining number of jobs which would otherwise be reserved for registered apprentices in order for the employer to meet the 2% man-hour requirement provided for in proposed law. Proposed law requires the employer to cooperate with director of apprenticeship and meet the standards and requirements of the apprenticeship program as provided for in proposed law. Effective August 1, 2018. (Adds R.S. 23:388.1 and R.S. 51:934)