Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Cannabis Certified Worker Grant Program and Social Equity Certified Worker Hiring Grant Program; makes appropriation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning grants to support workforce development programs for workers in the cannabis industry, supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes, amending P.L.1992, c.43, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. There is established in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the Cannabis Certified Worker Grant Program, which shall provide grants for the development and administration of workforce development programs for workers in the cannabis industry in the State. Grant length is one year but may also extend beyond one year in duration. The program shall be administered by the Office of Apprenticeship in the department.
b. Any organizational sponsor of a workforce development program is eligible to receive the grant, including businesses; business organizations and associations; labor organizations; joint labor-management partnerships; local education agencies; public vocational schools; two-year and four-year colleges; local workforce development boards; workforce training providers; economic development organizations; and community- based and other non-profit organizations. An organizational sponsor shall have some substantial connection or experience in the cannabis industry, or that organizational sponsor shall be partnered with a cannabis business.
c. To apply for the grant, an organization shall submit an application to the Office of Apprenticeship. The department shall rank eligible applicants for grants based upon:
(1) each applicants potential to:
(a) reach a broad audience through its recruitment and outreach efforts;
(b) significantly increase enrollment and completion of the workforce development program; and
(c) fill existing needs for skilled workers in the market; and
(2) the applicants partnership with a business for which workforce development programs targeted at training and providing skilled workers who have the ability to perform jobs in that industry have demonstrated positive outcomes.
d. An eligible applicant is required to demonstrate that it has secured an industry partner. Moreover, each eligible applicant shall provide documentation of:
(1) the workforce development programs curriculum, location, and skills to be taught;
(2) the recruitment efforts for the program and projected enrollment with receipt of grant funds;
(3) a description of how the grant funds will be utilized;
(4) information on specific industry needs or gaps in the workforce that will be addressed by the program;
(5) costs to operate the workforce development program; and
(6) any other information the department requires.
e. An eligible applicant who is selected by the department for receipt of a grant for the purpose of funding a workforce development program in accordance with P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall, on an annual basis for so long as the grant is provided, make an annual report to the commissioner detailing the enrollment in the program, the number of participants completing the program, the number of participants obtaining employment as a result of the program, the number of minorities, disabled veterans, and women participating in the program, and any other information that the commissioner may require.
f. Beginning on the January
1 next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), and each year thereafter, the
Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall submit to the Governor,
and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1), a report that evaluates the results of the program and its
effectiveness in preparing individuals to meet existing and burgeoning
workforce needs and addressing gaps in skills in the workforce. The report
shall include a recommendation regarding the success and efficacy of the
program, and if the program should be expanded or otherwise enhanced. The
report shall include:
(1) the number of grants awarded in the prior year, including the amount, recipient, and duration of each grant;
(2) the number of individuals who enrolled in and completed a Cannabis Certified Worker program offered by each grant recipient;
(3) the number of individuals who obtained employment in a position that uses the skills for which they were trained by a grant recipient, or in a position for which the completion of the cannabis certified worker program was a condition of employment;
(4) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in training and preparing minorities and women in the workforce; and
(5) all relevant information provided by grant recipients as to measurable outcomes of participants.
g. Funds from grants
provided in accordance with P.L. ,
c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not be
used:
(1) for any activities which replace, supplant, compete with, or duplicate in any way existing approved programs;
(2) to induce, encourage, or assist: any displacement of currently employed workers by trainees, including partial displacement by means such as reduced hours of currently employed workers; any replacement of laid off workers by trainees; or any relocation of operations resulting in a loss of employment at a previous workplace; or
(3) to impair existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements, except that activities which would be inconsistent with the terms of a collective bargaining agreement may be undertaken with the written concurrence of the collective bargaining unit and the employer or employers who are parties to the agreement.
2. (New section) As used in P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill):
Cannabis industry means an industry involved with the operation of cannabis retail, manufacturing, or cultivation.
Commissioner means Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.
Department means Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Disabled veteran means an individual who has served on active duty in the armed forces, was honorably discharged and has a service-connected disability that was aggravated during active duty, or is receiving compensation, disability retirement benefits, or pension because of a public statue administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs or a military department.
Eligible applicant means a business; labor organization; college; workforce training provider; non-profit organization; or any other entity that offers or plans to offer a workforce development program that is accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor and that has partnered with an industry to offer or fund the program.
Minority means a person who is Asian American, a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Hawaii, or the Pacific Islands; American Indian or Alaskan native, a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America; Black, a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa; or Hispanic, a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture, with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbea