AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
June 1, 2016
H. 4145
Introduced by Reps. White, Clemmons, Goldfinch, Yow, W.J. McLeod, Horne, Murphy, Erickson, Duckworth, Gagnon, Gambrell, Hardwick, Jordan, Long, Lowe, Pitts, Sandifer, Thayer, Willis, Loftis, Alexander, Johnson, Whipper, M.S. McLeod, Mitchell, Henegan, Anderson, Rivers and R.L. Brown
S. Printed 6/01/16--S.
Read the first time January 28, 2016.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 15 TO CHAPTER 1, TITLE 13 SO AS TO CREATE THE COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION UNDER THE COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS, TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, TO ESTABLISH THE DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL, TO ESTABLISH TO WHOM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MUST BE SUBMITTED AND THE CONTENTS REQUIRED, TO PROVIDE FOR PROGRAM EVALUATIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR A BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT BY THE COUNCIL, TO PROVIDE THAT THE COUNCIL SHALL IMPROVE COORDINATION OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A STATE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR SUPPLY OF HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL, TO PROVIDE THAT THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS SHALL DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A LOCAL UNIFIED PLAN FOR THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM; BY ADDING ARTICLE 29 TO CHAPTER 53, TITLE 59 SO AS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A CAREER PATHWAYS FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE, TO ESTABLISH A PATHWAYS TO FIRST CAREERS PROGRAM, AND TO ESTABLISH A PATHWAYS TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM; BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-3760 SO AS TO PROVIDE A TAX CREDIT FOR TAXPAYERS WHO HIRE AN APPRENTICE; BY ADDING SECTION 59-53-110 SO AS TO CREATE A WORKFORCE SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT FUND; AND BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-3765 SO AS TO PROVIDE A TAX CREDIT FOR TAXPAYERS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORKFORCE SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT FUND.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Title 13 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 13-1-2030. (A) There is established the 'Coordinating Council of Workforce Development' which is created to engage in discussions, collaboration, and information sharing concerning the state's ability to prepare and train workers to meet current and future workforce needs. The coordinating council shall be comprised of the following members:
(1) the Secretary of the Department of Commerce or his designee;
(2) the State Superintendent of the Department of Education or his designee;
(3) the Executive Director of the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education or his designee;
(4) the Executive Director of the Department of Employment and Workforce or his designee;
(5) the Executive Director of the Commission on Higher Education or his designee;
(B)(1)The coordinating council shall:
(a) develop and implement procedures for sharing information and coordinating efforts among stakeholders to prepare the state's current and emerging workforce to meet the needs of the state's economy. The primary workforce focus of the council shall be on persons over age twenty-one;
(b) make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning matters related to workforce development that exceed the council members' agencies' scope of authority to implement and legislation is required;
(c) recommend, to the General Assembly, programs intended to increase student access to and incentivize workforce training within state training programs or through programs offered by businesses through scholarships, grants, loans, tax credits, or other programs documented to be effective in addressing current and future workforce needs;
(d) develop a method for identifying and addressing long-term workforce needs;
(e) conduct an ongoing inventory of existing workforce programs to identify duplications among and within the programs and identify ineffective programs. The council may make recommendations concerning the appropriate actions necessary to eliminate duplication, improvements to ineffective programs so that the programs can achieve the desired result, or the elimination of programs that no longer meet workforce needs; and
(f) submit an annual progress report to the Governor and the General Assembly, by July 1 of each fiscal year, concerning the actions taken by the council during the previous fiscal year, and any recommendations for legislation or agency action. The council may submit additional reports on an ongoing basis as deemed necessary by the council chairman.
(2) The coordinating council may create subcommittees or advisory groups comprised of community or state or local government stakeholders to assist the council in carrying out the council's duties as contained in item (1).
(C) The Secretary of the Department of Commerce or his designee to the coordinating council shall be the coordinating council's chairman.
(D) The Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Commerce, and the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education shall provide staff for the coordinating council."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.