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S.48 1
Introduced by Senator Clarkson 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Conservation and development; workforce leadership 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to reorganize the 6
leadership of workforce education and employment and training activities in 7
Vermont. 8
An act relating to workforce leadership in Vermont 9
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 10
Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. § 540 is amended to read: 11
§ 540. WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT AND 12
TRAINING LEADER LEADERS 13
(a) The Commissioner of Labor and the Executive Director of the Office of 14
Workforce Strategy and Development shall be the leader leaders of workforce 15
education and employment and training in the State, and shall have the 16
authority and responsibility for the coordination of workforce education and 17
training within State government, including the following duties: the State’s 18
workforce system as provided in this section. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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(b) The powers and duties provided in this section shall not limit, restrict, 1
or suspend any similar powers the Commissioner of Labor or the Executive 2
Director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development may have 3
under other provisions of law. 4
(c) For purposes of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 5
(WIOA), the Department of Labor shall be designated as the State Workforce 6
Agency and the Commissioner of Labor shall serve as the State Workforce 7
Administrator. 8
(d) As coleader of workforce education and employment and training in the 9
State, the Commissioner of Labor, in consultation with the Executive Director 10
of the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development where appropriate, 11
shall: 12
(1) Perform the following duties in consultation with the State 13
Workforce Development Board: ensure the coordination and administration of 14
workforce education and employment and training programs operated by the 15
Department of Labor; 16
(A) advise the Governor on the establishment of an integrated system 17
of workforce education and training for Vermont; 18
(B) create and maintain an inventory of all existing workforce 19
education and training programs and activities in the State; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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(C) use data to ensure that State workforce education and training 1
activities are aligned with the needs of the available workforce, the current and 2
future job opportunities in the State, and the specific credentials needed to 3
achieve employment in those jobs; 4
(D) develop a State plan, as required by federal law, to ensure that 5
workforce education and training programs and activities in the State serve 6
Vermont citizens and businesses to the maximum extent possible; 7
(E) ensure coordination and nonduplication of workforce education 8
and training activities; 9
(F) identify best practices and gaps in the delivery of workforce 10
education and training programs; 11
(G) design and implement criteria and performance measures for 12
workforce education and training activities; 13
(H) establish goals for the integrated workforce education and training 14
system; and 15
(I) with the assistance of the Secretaries of Commerce and 16
Community Development, of Human Services, of Education, of Agriculture, 17
Food and Markets, and of Transportation and of the Commissioner of Public 18
Safety, develop and implement a coordinated system to recruit, relocate, and 19
train workers to ensure the labor force needs of Vermont’s businesses are met. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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(2) Require from each business, training provider, or program that 1
receives State funding to conduct workforce education and training a report 2
that evaluates the results of the training. Each recipient shall submit its report 3
on a schedule determined by the Commissioner and shall include at least the 4
following information: enter into agreements, to the extent necessary, with 5
other State agencies and departments for services to improve the employment 6
and economic outcomes for individuals receiving public assistance, including 7
agreements to provide customized or specialized services that are beyond the 8
basic services required by federal law; 9
(A) name of the person who receives funding; 10
(B) amount of funding; 11
(C) activities and training provided; 12
(D) number of trainees and their general description; 13
(E) employment status of trainees; and 14
(F) future needs for resources. 15
(3) Review reports submitted by each recipient of workforce education 16
and training funding. develop strategies and provide support to entities 17
responsible for federal investments in the State’s workforce system; 18
(4)(A) Issue an annual report to the Governor, the House Committees on 19
Appropriations and on Commerce and Economic Development, and the Senate 20
Committees on Appropriations and on Economic Development, Housing and 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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General Affairs on or before December 1 that includes a systematic evaluation 1
of the accomplishments of the State workforce investment system and the 2
performance of participating agencies and institutions. The provisions of 2 3
V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to 4
be made under this subdivision. develop strategies designed to reduce 5
employee layoffs and business closures; and 6
(B) provide reemployment services to employees affected by layoffs 7
and closures; 8
(5) Coordinate public and private workforce programs to ensure that 9
information is easily accessible to students, employees, and employers, and 10
that all information and necessary counseling is available through one contact. 11
administer a system where employment and training resources are provided to 12
individuals and businesses through both physical and virtual service delivery 13
methods; 14
(6) Facilitate effective communication between the business community 15
and public and private educational institutions. establish job centers in such 16
parts of the State as the Commissioner deems necessary and evaluate such 17
centers on an as-needed basis; 18
(7) maintain a free and secure electronic job board that, to the extent 19
practicable, compiles all available job, registered apprenticeship, education and 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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training, and credentialing opportunities that support job seekers and career 1
advancers; 2
(7)(8) Notwithstanding any provision of State law to the contrary, and to 3
the fullest extent allowed under federal law, ensure that in each State and 4
State-funded workforce education and training program, the program 5
administrator collects and reports data and results at the individual level by 6
Social Security number or an equivalent. use data to ensure that State 7
workforce education and employment and training activities are aligned with 8
the needs of the: 9
(A) available workforce; 10
(B) employers to fill their current and future job openings; and 11
(C) specific credentials required by employers; 12
(8)(9) Coordinate intentional outreach and connections between students 13
graduating from Vermont’s colleges and universities and employment 14
opportunities in Vermont. require that each business, training provider, or other 15
entity receiving State funding to conduct workforce training submit a report 16
that evaluates the results of the training; and 17
(10) notwithstanding any provision of State law to the contrary, and to 18
the fullest extent allowed under federal law, ensure that the program 19
administrator in each State and State-funded workforce education and 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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employment and training program collects and reports data and results at the 1
individual level by Social Security number or equivalent. 2
(e) As coleader of workforce education and employment and training in the 3
State, the Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and 4
Development, in consultation with the Commissioner of Labor and the State 5
Workforce Development Board where appropriate, shall: 6
(1) advise the Governor and members of the Governor’s cabinet on the 7
establishment and management of an integrated system of workforce education 8
and training in Vermont; 9
(2) coordinate across public and private sectors to identify and address 10
labor force needs and ensure that workforce development program information 11
is easily accessible to students, employees, and businesses; 12
(3) develop a comprehensive workforce strategy that contains 13
measurable statewide workforce goals along with a biennial operational plan to 14
achieve those goals that shall: 15
(A) be developed in collaboration with, and representative of, 16
workforce system partners, including public, private, nonprofit, and 17
educational sectors and the State Workforce Development Board; 18
(B) include a set of metrics, designed in consultation with the Agency 19
of Administration’s Chief Performance Office, used to evaluate the 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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effectiveness of, to the extent practicable, all workforce development 1
programs; 2
(C) align with and build upon other required strategic planning 3
efforts, including the WIOA State Plan; 4
(D) be informed by the inventory system as set forth in subdivision 5
(4) of this subsection (e); and 6
(E) be reviewed and updated as necessary, but at least once every two 7
years; 8
(4) create, maintain, and update a publicly accessible inventory of all 9
known workforce education and employment and training programs and 10
activities in the State in order to: 11
(A) annually assess the investments and effectiveness of the 12
workforce development system; 13
(B) ensure coordination and nonduplication of workforce education 14
and employment and training activities; and 15
(C) identify best practices and gaps in the delivery of workforce 16
education and employment and training programs; 17
(5) identify and manage priority projects specific to regional workforce 18
needs; 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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(6) facilitate effective communication between the business community, 1
State and local government, and public and private educational institutions, for 2
the purpose of workforce pipeline development and job placement; 3
(7) coordinate intentional outreach and connections between students 4
and employment opportunities in the State; and 5
(8) ensure the State Workforce Development Board is carrying out its 6
duties and responsibilities as set forth in section 541a of this chapter. 7
(f)(1) The Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and 8
Development shall, once every two years, issue a comprehensive biennial 9
workforce report to the Governor, the House Committees on Appropriations 10
and on Commerce and Economic Development, and the Senate Committees on 11
Appropriations and on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, 12
on or before December 1, that includes an evaluation of the accomplishments 13
of the State workforce investment system and the performance of participating 14
agencies and institutions covering the previous two calendar years. The report 15
shall include identification of system priorities, need for future funding 16
requests, identification of proposed legislative and administrative changes, and 17
any other information relevant to the performance and future needs of the 18
workforce investment system. The report shall summarize performance and 19
outcome information submitted by federally and State-funded workforce 20
development and investment programs for all public and nonpublic programs. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.48
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(2) To the extent practicable, workforce reports required of the 1
Department of Labor, including the apprenticeship report required by 21 2
V.S.A. § 1113(e)(2), shall be incorporated into the comprehensive report 3
required by subdivision (1) of this subsection. 4
(3) The Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and 5
Development shall have the support and coordination of the Department of 6
Labor in developing and submitting the biennial report required by subdivision 7
(1) of this subsection. 8
(4) The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) 9
shall not apply to the report to be made under subdivision (1) of this 10
subsection. 11
Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE 12
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 13