Bill Text: NJ SJR42 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes "Commission on Apprenticeship Program Promotion."
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee [SJR42 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-SJR42-Introduced.html
No. 42
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Senator DOUGLAS J. STEINHARDT
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "Commission on Apprenticeship Program Promotion."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A Joint Resolution establishing the "Commission on Apprenticeship Program Promotion."
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is hereby established the "Commission on Apprenticeship Program Promotion."
a. The commission shall consist of seven members, to be appointed as follows:
(1) the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, or the commissioner's designee, who shall serve ex officio;
(2) the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee, who shall serve ex officio;
(3) one member to appointed by the President of the Senate;
(4) one member to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
(5) one member to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly;
(6) one member to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly; and
(7) one member to be appointed by the Governor.
At least one member shall be a representative of a county college or an organization of county colleges, at least one member shall be a representative of the manufacturing community, and at least one member shall be a representative of a labor union that participates in a joint apprenticeship program with an employer of its members.
b. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
c. It shall be the duty of the commission to study how to best promote apprenticeship programs to high school students in a manner and form that demonstrates the value of the education and skills acquired through apprenticeship programs and the economic opportunities available upon completion of such a program.
d. The members of the commission shall be appointed within 60 days following the date of enactment of this section. The commission shall organize as soon as is practicable after the appointment of its members, and shall select a chairperson from among its membership and a secretary who need not be a member of the commission. The presence of four members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. The commission may conduct business without a quorum, but may only vote on recommendations when a quorum is present. The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, authority, or agency as it may require, and as may be available to it for its purposes. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as it may deem necessary in order to perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes. The commission shall meet at the call of its chairperson, at the times and in the places the chairperson may deem appropriate and necessary to effectuate the commission's duties, and it may conduct public hearings at such place or places as the chairperson shall designate.
e. Within one year of its organization, the commission shall issue a report of its findings and conclusions to the Governor and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).
f. For the purposes of this section, "apprenticeship program" means a registered apprenticeship program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the U.S. Department of Labor, and meeting the standards established by the office, or registered by a State apprenticeship agency recognized by the office.
2. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately, and shall expire on the 30th day following the submission of the commission's report to the Governor and Legislature, as provided by subsection e. of section 1 of this joint resolution.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution establishes the "Commission on Apprenticeship Program Promotion." The commission shall consist of seven members: the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, or the commissioner's designee; the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; one member to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one member to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one member to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; one member to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly; and one member to be appointed by the Governor.
Under the resolution, the
commission would study the best way to promote apprenticeship programs to high
school students in a manner and form that demonstrates the value of the
education and skills acquired through apprenticeship programs and the economic
opportunities available upon completion of such a program.
The members of the commission are to be appointed within 60 days from the enactment of the resolution, and the commission is to issue a report one year after the date of its organization. The commission would submit the report, together with any recommendations it may have to legislative or regulatory action, to the Governor and the Legislature. The commission would dissolve 30 days after the issuance of its final report.
