HLS 23RS-2943 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 215
BY REPRESENTATIVE MINCEY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: Urges and requests the Dept. of Education and the La.
Workforce Commission to study the feasibility of establishing a program to
incentivize businesses to work in partnership with high schools to offer job training
and internship programs for students
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Department of Education and the Louisiana Workforce Commission
3 to work jointly to study the feasibility of establishing a program to incentivize
4 businesses to work in partnership with high schools to offer job training and
5 internship programs for students which will help prepare students for careers in high-
6 wage, high-demand industries and to report their findings to the House Committee
7 on Ways and Means prior to the convening of the 2024 Regular Session.
8 WHEREAS, the House Committee on Ways and Means, in hearings during the 2023
9Regular Session, particularly House Bill No. 637 by Representative Mincey, received
10testimony from interested parties concerning the establishment of an income and corporate
11franchise tax credit for companies that employ eligible students as interns in work-based
12programs designed to educate students in classroom settings as well as incorporate on-the-
13job training in high-wage, high-demand industry sectors; and
14 WHEREAS, during discussion on House Bill No. 637, questions were raised
15regarding the establishment of a broader program that would encourage more businesses to
16participate and methods to notify schools of the possibility of participating in such a
17program; and
18 WHEREAS, more details need to be determined concerning the high-wage, high-
19demand industry sectors that should be targeted in this program including but not limited to
20details concerning the number of internships that should be eligible for the incentive, the
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HR NO. 215
1number of credit hours that students should earn for participating in the program,
2determining regional or economic priorities, and pay levels of internships in order for the
3program to be mutually beneficial to businesses, school systems, and students; and
4 WHEREAS, Louisiana has a history of offering incentives in the form of tax credits,
5exemptions, deductions, and rebates when the state is attempting to develop a business
6industry for the benefit of all citizens of the state; and
7 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Workforce Commission is the state agency that is charged
8with developing a skilled workforce for Louisiana citizens and meeting the needs of industry
9sectors located in this state; and
10 WHEREAS, the Department of Education is charged with developing the education
11curriculum for students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade in order to prepare students
12to be successful in college or to achieve career credentials; and
13 WHEREAS, the Department of Education and the Louisiana Workforce Commission
14are the two state agencies in the best position to develop a program that satisfies the
15educational needs of students and to develop skills to enable students who are not necessarily
16candidates for higher education to be trained through internship programs to prepare them
17to be career-ready for the betterment of their futures while meeting the needs of employers
18and industry sectors for the betterment of the state of Louisiana.
19 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
20Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Department of Education and the
21Louisiana Workforce Commission to work jointly to study the feasibility of establishing a
22program to incentivize businesses to work in partnership with high schools to offer job
23training and internship programs for students which will help prepare students for careers
24in high-wage, high-demand industries and to report their findings to the House Committee
25on Ways and Means prior to the convening of the 2024 Regular Session.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education and the Louisiana
27Workforce Commission should work closely with all stakeholders and interested parties to
28develop this program including but not limited to representatives from the Louisiana
29Association of School Superintendents, the Louisiana School Boards Association, the
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HR NO. 215
1Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, and
2YouthForce NOLA.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
4secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission and the state superintendent of education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 215 Original 2023 Regular Session Mincey
Urges and requests the Dept. of Education and the La. Workforce Commission to work
jointly to study the feasibility of establishing a program to incentivize businesses to work
in partnership with high schools to offer job training and internship programs for students
which will help prepare students for careers in high-wage, high-demand industries and to
report their findings to the House Committee on Ways and Means prior to the convening of
the 2024 Regular Session.
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