Sec. 116. Local workforce development areas
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/bill/113/s/1356/is/section-116A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Except as provided in subsection (b), and consistent with paragraphs
(2)and (3), in order for a State to receive an allotment under section 227 or 232, the Governor of the State shall designate local workforce development areas within the State— through consultation with the State board; and after consultation with chief elected officials and affected local boards, and after consideration of comments received through the public comment process as described in section 112(b)(2)(E)(iii)(II). The Governor shall designate local areas (except for those local areas described in paragraphs
(2)and (3)), based on criteria consisting of— the extent to which the areas are consistent with labor market areas in the State; the extent to which the areas are consistent with regional economic development areas in the State; and whether the areas have available the Federal and non-Federal resources necessary to effectively administer activities under title II and other applicable provisions of this Act, including whether the areas have the appropriate education and training providers, such as institutions of higher education and area career and technical education schools. For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), the definition of the term region in section 101 shall not be applicable. For the second full program year that commences after the date of enactment of this Act, any area that was designated as a local area under section 116 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, and was so designated for the 2-year period preceding that day, shall be designated as a local area by the Governor under this subparagraph— if such area so requests; and if such local area— performed successfully; and sustained fiscal integrity. For the third full program year that commences after the date of enactment of this Act and thereafter, the Governor shall designate as a local area under this subparagraph any area that was designated as a local area under subparagraph (A)— if such local area so requests; if such local area— performed successfully; and sustained fiscal integrity; and in the case of a local area that is part of a consortium of local areas in a planning region under subsection (c), if such local area met each of the following implementation conditions: Participated in preparing a regional plan under subsection (c)(1)(A)(iv) and in implementing the plan. Developed and implemented regional service strategies and activities, such as industry and sector-based strategies (including establishment of industry partnerships), in accordance with the regional plan. For purposes of this paragraph: The term performed successfully , used with respect to a local area, means the local area met or exceeded the adjusted levels of performance for primary indicators of performance described in section 131(b)(2)(A) (or, if applicable, core indicators of performance described in section 136(b)(2)(A) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as in effect the day before the date of enactment of this Act) for each of the last 2 consecutive years for which data are available preceding the determination of performance under this clause. The term sustained fiscal integrity , used with respect to a local area, means that the Secretary has not made a formal determination, during either of the last 2 consecutive years preceding the determination regarding such integrity, that either the grant recipient or the administrative entity of the area misexpended funds provided under title II (or, if applicable, title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 as in effect prior to the effective date of such title II) due to willful disregard of the requirements of the title involved, gross negligence, or failure to comply with accepted standards of administration. The Governor may approve a request from any unit of general local government (including a combination of such units) for designation as a local area if the State board determines, based on the factors described in paragraph (1)(B), and recommends to the Governor, that such area should be so designated. A unit of general local government (including a combination of such units) or grant recipient that requests but is not granted designation of an area as a local area under paragraph
(2)may submit an appeal to the State board under an appeal process established in the State plan. If the appeal does not result in such a designation, the Secretary of Labor, after receiving a request for review from the unit or grant recipient and on determining that the unit or grant recipient was not accorded procedural rights under the appeal process described in the State plan, as specified in section 112(b)(2)(D)(i), or that the area meets the requirements of paragraph (2), may require that the area be designated as a local area under such paragraph. The Governor of any State that was a single State local area for purposes of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as in effect on July 1, 2011, may designate the State as a single State local area for purposes of this title and title II if the Governor identifies the State as a local area in the State plan. The Governor of a State not described in paragraph
(1)may designate the State as a single local area if, prior to the submission of the State plan or modification to such plan so designating the State, no local area meeting the requirements for automatic designation under subsection (a)(2) requests such designation as a separate local area. For a State that is designated as a single State local area under paragraph (1), the composition of the State board shall— be consistent with the composition of the State board for such State for purposes of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; or include the members described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of section 111(b)(1); include, as a majority of the members, the representatives described in section 111(b)(1)(C)(i); include, as members other than the members described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)(i) of section 111(b)(1), an equal number of— representatives described in subparagraph (C)(ii) of that section; and representatives described in subparagraph (C)(iii) of that section; and include as chairperson an individual elected from among the members described in section 111(b)(1)(C)(i). For a State that is designated as a single State local area under paragraph (2), the composition of the State board shall be consistent with the requirements described in subparagraph (A)(ii). In any case in which a State is designated as a local area pursuant to this subsection, the local plan prepared under section 118 for the area shall be submitted for approval as part of the State plan. In such a State, the State board shall carry out the functions of a local board, as specified in this Act or the provisions authorizing a core program, but the State shall not be required to meet and report on a set of local performance accountability measures. Before the first day of the second full program year that commences after the date of enactment of this Act, as part of the process for developing the State plan, a State shall identify regions in the State. The State shall identify regions after consultation with the local boards and chief elected officials in the affected local areas and consistent with the criteria described in subsection (a)(1)(B). For purposes of this Act, the State shall identify— which regions are comprised of 1 local area that is aligned with the region; and which regions are comprised of 2 or more local areas that are (collectively) aligned with the region. In the regions comprised of 2 or more local areas, the State shall require regional planning, including planning for regional service delivery, by local boards in those regions. The State shall require the local boards in a planning region to participate in a regional planning process for cooperative initiatives and arrangements that result in— the establishment of regional service strategies and activities, including service delivery cooperative arrangements and regional approaches to address the employment and training needs of individuals with barriers to employment; as appropriate, the development and implementation of initiatives involving in-demand industry sectors or occupations; the collection and analysis of regional labor market data (in conjunction with the State); and the establishment of administrative cost arrangements, as appropriate. The State, after consultation with the local boards and chief elected officials for the planning region, shall require the local boards and officials to collaborate in order to prepare, submit, and obtain approval of a single regional plan. Such plan shall include a description of the cooperative initiatives and arrangements developed pursuant to clause
(iii)and incorporate local plans for each of the local areas in the planning region (as required under section 118), which shall contain strategies that are consistent and aligned with each other. In this Act, and the core program provisions that are not in this Act: Except as provided in section 111(d)(8), this section, paragraph (1)(B) or
(4)of section 117(c), or section 117(d)(12)(B), or in any text that provides an accompanying provision specifically for a planning region, the term local area in a provision includes a reference to a planning region for purposes of implementation of that provision by the corresponding local areas in the region. Except as provided in subsection (b)(4) or this subsection, the term local plan includes a reference to the portion of a regional plan developed with respect to the corresponding local area within the region, and any regionwide provision of that plan that impacts or relates to the local area. The State shall provide technical assistance and labor market information to local boards in planning regions to assist such local boards with regional planning and subsequent service delivery efforts, and with the alignment of programs consistent with the alignment envisioned in the State and local plans. On the request of all of the local areas in a planning region, the State shall provide funding from funds made available under sections 228(a) and 233(a)(1) to assist the local areas in carrying out activities to facilitate the redesignation of the local areas as a single local area. The State shall require the local boards for a planning region to share, consistent with State law, employment statistics, information about employment opportunities and trends, information about the skill requirements of existing and emerging in-demand industry sectors and occupations, information on the skills and workforce development activities, and any skill or services gaps, in the planning region, and other types of information that would assist in improving the performance of all local areas in the planning region on the performance accountability measures established under section 131(c). The State shall require the local boards for a planning region to coordinate— the provision of workforce investment activities with the activities of the other one-stop partner programs, including the provision of transportation and other supportive services, so that services provided through such programs may be provided across the boundaries of local areas within the planning region; and the provision of such activities with regional economic development services and strategies. Two or more States that contain an interstate region that is a labor market area, economic development region, or other appropriate contiguous subarea of the States may designate the area as a planning region for purposes of this subsection, and jointly exercise the State functions described in this Act (including paragraphs
(1)through (3)).