STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4479 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 12, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Author- ities and Commissions AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in relation to the creation of the strategic investment in workforce development program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting 2 the New York state urban development corporation act, is amended by 3 adding a new section 53 to read as follows: 4 § 53. Strategic investment in workforce development. 1. Pursuant to 5 this section there is hereby established within the corporation, the 6 strategic investment in workforce development program to identify and 7 address workforce needs throughout the state. The corporation shall 8 collaborate with the department of labor, the department of economic 9 development, the state university of New York, the city university of 10 New York, and the state education department to provide support to 11 eligible applicants within amounts available for the strategic invest- 12 ments in workforce development program and shall identify the training 13 needs of employers, employees and prospective employees; identify areas 14 of the state or specific industries where a shortage of a skilled work- 15 force is impacting the ability of those areas of the state or industries 16 to remain competitive and innovative; identify methods and models to 17 train and employ youth workers; and identify ways to serve prospective 18 employees that are currently unemployed or underemployed. The strategic 19 investment in workforce development program shall utilize the informa- 20 tion gathered to target workforce training activities, employment 21 credentials or certificate opportunities, and skill development programs 22 to meet the identified needs and to provide necessary training and skill EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04870-01-9S. 4479 2 1 development programs to youth and individuals who are unemployed or 2 underemployed. 3 2. Eligible applicants shall include an employer or consortium of 4 employers in conjunction with a labor organization, a not-for-profit, an 5 educational entity or a program or network that provides training and 6 skill development for youth or individuals who are unemployed or under- 7 employed. An entity that works directly with employers to provide 8 training or retraining, particularly in high-skill occupations or indus- 9 tries, or an entity that seeks to promote and foster economic develop- 10 ment and job growth shall also be considered an eligible applicant. 11 Eligible applicants shall demonstrate a relationship with educational 12 programs and entities that address the needs of employers, employees or 13 prospective employees, particularly youth, unskilled workers, unemployed 14 individuals or underemployed workers. 15 3. (a) Assistance provided by the corporation to eligible applicants, 16 may be used for the costs associated with strategic workforce develop- 17 ment training and skills development. Such costs may include, but is not 18 limited to, classroom training, on the job training, curriculum develop- 19 ment, and training materials associated with on the job training, skills 20 upgrading, skills retraining, and basic skills training that leads to 21 obtaining appropriate certifications or degrees from accredited insti- 22 tutions; and 23 (b) The corporation shall ensure that not less than twenty percent of 24 the program funds are used in support of projects that assist small 25 businesses as defined in section one hundred thirty-one of the economic 26 development law and minority- and women-owned business enterprises. 27 4. (a) The corporation shall report to the legislature by June thirti- 28 eth, two thousand twenty and annually thereafter, identifying the enti- 29 ties receiving assistance, the type of assistance provided, the number 30 of individuals trained and newly hired including those who were previ- 31 ously unemployed, underemployed or economically disadvantaged, and the 32 number of certifications or degrees conferred from accredited insti- 33 tutions. 34 (b) The corporation shall also provide for an independent evaluation 35 of the program on or before June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-one, and 36 every three years thereafter. 37 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to 38 have been in full force and effect on and after April 1, 2019.