Analysis of AB 2200 (Arambula) — Online Jobs and Economic Support Resource Grant Program (2022)
Summary
This is the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy analysis of AB 2200 (Arambula), as amended March 24, 2022, for a hearing on March 31, 2022, with Sabrina Cervantes as Chair. The subject is the Online Jobs and Economic Support Resource Grant Program, which the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) would establish upon the appropriation of funds to fund online platforms supporting employment and earning opportunities. The bill requires each grant to be for no less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and prohibits more than 30% of any grant award from going to outreach and marketing. It lists Bitwise Industries (sponsor) in support, with no opposition on file.
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“Analysis of AB 2200 (Arambula) — Online Jobs and Economic Support Resource Grant Program (2022).”
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Date of Hearing: March 31, 2022
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JOBS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND THE ECONOMY
Sabrina Cervantes, Chair
AB 2200 (Arambula) – As Amended March 24, 2022
SUBJECT: Online Jobs and Economic Support Resource Grant Program
POLICY FRAME: Responding to the coronavirus pandemic required the state to take extreme and rapid
steps to protect the health and safety of Californians. Within one week in March 2020, the state went
from open-for-business to implementing a strict stay-at-home order for everyone not directly engaged in
what the government considered an essential and critical business activity. Since March 12, 2020, over
26.7 million unemployment insurance claims have been filed or reopened, and over $181 billion has been
aided out.
Even before to the pandemic, many regions of the state and groups were experiencing substantially higher
unemployment than the state as a whole. As an example, in January 2020, the statewide unemployment
rate was 4.3%. Unemployment rates for certain population groups, such as Blacks (5.3%) and people 20-
to-24 years old (7.2%), and regions of the state, including Colusa County (18.7%), were sometimes nearly
or more than double the statewide average. The disparities are driven by and also influence a range of
economic and societal issues, including, but not limited to, minimal educational attainment, economic
insecurity, poor health outcomes, negative engagements with law enforcement, and lack of a safety net for
the elderly and individual with special needs. COVID-19 magnified these effects, further straining
already struggling low-wage workers, particularly in the Black and Latinx communities.
AB 2200 proposes the establishment of a grant program to fund the development and maintenance of
online platforms that support workforce training and job placement for historically marginalized
populations. This program is needed because these types of technologies are often excluded or not
realistically included as an eligible cost within traditional workforce training programs.
The analysis includes information on the California Workforce Board, examples of online workforce
platforms, information on California’s workforce, and economic disparities among the California
workforce. Suggested amendments are included in Comment 7.
SUMMARY: AB 2200 establishes the Online Jobs and Economic Support Resource Grant Program,
administered by the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB), for the purpose of funding
inclusive, cross-jurisdictional, and innovative online platforms that support employment and earning
opportunities. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires, upon the appropriation of funds, that CWDB establish the Online Jobs and Economic
Support Resource Grant Program (Program) for the purpose of funding inclusive, cross-jurisdictional,
and innovative online platforms that support employment and earning opportunities. Funds are to be
awarded with a strong focus on underserved and economically challenged communities.
2) Specifies that the goals of the Program are to:
a) Reduce digital infrastructure gaps in employment and training services for individuals who face
barriers to employment.
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b) Enhance the ability of public and nonprofit entities to meet the needs of individuals who face
barriers to employment by funding the technologies that will allow these entities to help their
clients to bridge the digital divide.
c) Support workforce and employment programs that provide whole-person approaches to upward
mobility, including the provision of wraparound services to reduce barriers to employment or
earning opportunities.
3) Requires the CWDB to adopt guidelines and policies, which include, but are not limited to:
a) A competitive award process, including rating and ranking criteria, as specified.
b) Conditions and requirements for drawing down grant funds that include a written grant agreement
between the Board and selected grant recipient.
c) Reporting of milestones and outcomes, as specified.
d) A dispute resolution process.
4) Requires applications to be ranked based upon the following criteria:
a) Whether the application is designed to meet the goals of the grant.
b) The potential impact on under-resourced populations and individuals with employment barriers.
c) The extent of collaboration with governmental and nongovernmental partners.
d) The responsiveness of the proposal to evolving workforce and societal needs.
5) Requires priority to be given to applicants who demonstrate existing engagement with targeted
populations, as specified.
6) Requires the CWDB to issue a request for proposals to award grant funds within 120 days after
funding has been appropriated.
7) Specifies that an eligible applicant be one of several entities, which includes a legally formed for-
profit, nonprofit, cooperative, public benefit corporation, or local government. If the applicant is a
for-profit entity, the bill requires the applicant to apply in partnership with a nonprofit, cooperative,
public benefit corporation, or local government.
8) Requires the application to include, but not limited to:
a) A proposal narrative that identifies the purpose and goals of the grant; roles and responsibilities of
the applicant and its partners if any; and an outreach strategy that will be used to connect with
under-resourced populations and individuals with employment barriers.
b) Documentation that demonstrating that each partnering entity has agreed to the grant proposal
activities.
c) The designation of one or more targeted populations that will be served by the online platform.
i) Target populations include but are not necessarily limited to under-resourced communities and
individuals with employment barriers.
ii) Identification of how the platform can be used to reduce employment barriers or enhance
access to the online platform.
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d) The designation of a service area, which may include one or more regions or be statewide.
i) Data on the estimated number of individuals who will be served by the platform
ii) Data on the estimated number of individuals identified in the target population who the
platform will served.
e) A description of how the applicant and its partners, if any, provide services that align with and
address service delivery or technology gaps, and enhance state, regional, and local infrastructure,
services, or community engagement. The program is not intended to duplicate resources, but may
augment services to meet unmet needs.
f) A proposed budget including, but not limited to, how the online services will be provided to the
targeted population at no cost to the user.
g) A proposed impact assessment and timeline, including benchmarks, metrics, progress reports, and
final deliverables.
h) An overview of the capability of the online platform and documentation of how the platform will
achieve its specified purpose, including:
i) How the platform is, or will be, integrated within, or connected to, local, regional, and
statewide workforce or economic development activities.
ii) The extent to which the mechanisms of the online platform do each of the following:
(1) Connect users to employment, entrepreneurship, or other economic opportunities.
(2) Help users to access training programs that offer the ability to develop new skills and
expand on existing skills.
(3) Help users to identify and access support services such as free or reduced-cost services for
medical care, food, shelter, transportation, or childcare. These may include but are not
limited to connection with services provided by state or local agencies.
(4) Have the capacity to serve a region or the entire state.
(5) Have the capacity to work across multiple technology platforms, such as computers,
telephones, and tablets.
(6) Collect socioeconomic and demographic data from users.
(7) Comply with applicable California privacy laws.
9) Requires applicants to individually or in partnership with other entities, demonstrate experience in
each of the following areas:
a) Serving under-resourced populations and individuals with employment barriers, as defined.
b) Collaborating with stakeholders including, but not limited to, regional workforce boards,
appropriate state agencies, and statewide training partners.
c) Maintaining or constructing online platforms or digital infrastructure.
10) Establishes the Online Jobs Account within the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative Fund for
the purpose of receiving funds to startup and administer the Online Jobs and Economic Support
Resource Grant Program. Funds collected or received from gifts, bequests, or donations, are required
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to be deposited in accordance with specified transparency and conflict of interest provisions, as
specified.
11) Requires awarded grants funds to exclusively be used for the following expenses:
a) Design, build, and testing of an online platform, as specified.
b) Web hosting services for the platform, fees associated with listing support services on the
platform, relevant technical personnel, and payments to external providers, including, but not
limited to, messaging providers that promote access to the platform.
c) The infrastructure necessary to operate, maintain, and improve the online platform, including, but
not limited to, software and hardware.
d) Support and training for platform users and production of instructional material for those users.
12) Prohibits more than 30% of any grant award to be used on outreach and marketing, as follows:
a) No more than 25% of the total grant can be used for outreach to designated communities, as
specified, or any other outreach intended to enhance access to the online platform.
b) No more than 5% of the total grant can be used for outreach to potential providers of employment
opportunities, training, or services.
13) Requires each grant to be for no less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
14) Requires, as a condition of receiving grant funds, that the grant recipient submit an annual report that
includes all of the following:
a) The use of the grant funds.
b) Progress made in achieving the commitments made in the application and identified in the written
agreement, as specified.
c) The number of individuals who accessed the online platform.
d) A description of the resources available to support job and earning opportunities, training sessions,
and support services.
e) Aggregate demographic data on the online platform users, including users from targeted
populations.
f) Data from partners, if any, regarding the number of individuals who connected with services,
training, employment opportunities, outreach activities, or other methods of engagement.
g) Other information related to the implementation of the grant, as determined by the CWDB.
15) Requires, upon appropriation of funds to activate the program, the CWDB to post notice on the home
page of its internet website and send the notice to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and Senate, as
specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes the CWDB as the government body responsible for assisting the Governor in the
development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system
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and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21 st-century
economy and workforce and the development of a high road economy that offers an educated and
skilled workforce with fair compensation and treatment in the workplace.
2) Requires the CWDB, among other duties, to further assist the Governor in:
a) Identifying barriers and means for removing barriers to better coordinate, align, and avoid
duplication among the programs and activities carried out through the system.
b) The development, promotion, and implementation of strategies for providing effective outreach to
and improved access for individuals and employers who could benefit from services provided
through the workforce development system.
c) Helping individuals with barriers to employment, including low-skill, low-wage workers, the
long-term unemployed, and members of single-parent households, achieve economic security and
upward mobility by implementing policies that encourage the attainment of marketable skills
relevant to current labor market trends.
3) Defines an “individual with employment barriers” to mean an individual with any characteristic that
substantially limits an individual’s ability to obtain employment, including indicators of poor work
history, lack of work experience, or access to employment in nontraditional occupations, long-term
unemployment, lack of educational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation from high-wage and
high-benefit employment, low levels of literacy or English proficiency, disability status, or welfare
dependency, including but not limited to members of all of the following groups:
a) Low-income individuals.
b) Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, as specified.
c) Individuals with disabilities, including youths who are individuals with disabilities.
d) Ex-offenders.
e) Homeless individuals, as defined.
f) Youth who are in or have aged out of the foster care system.
g) Individuals who are English language learners, individuals who have low literacy levels, and
individuals facing substantial cultural barriers.
h) Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers, as defined.
i) Long-term unemployed individuals.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS & CONTEXT:
1) Examples of Online Platforms that Support Training and Employment: Bitwise, who is the
sponsor of AB 2200, an online platform that supports computer programming and an infrastructure
training program via Geekwise Academy. The firm describes its workforce model as “intentionally
designed to produce graduates who match the demographics of the places we serve. By extension, we
are producing the most diverse technology workforce on the planet.”
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According to the Bitwise 2020 impact report for their work in Fresno, Bakersfield, Oakland, and
Merced, their platform supported the training of over 3,400 students, of which 28.9% had not
completed high school, and 71% had not completed a four-year degree. One of the advantages of an
online platform is the potential to reach younger underserved populations. A selection of self-
identified student characteristics illustrates this diversity: LGBTQI (41%), Latinx (55.4%), and first-
generation Americans (40.4%). Also of interest is that 50% of the 2020 graduates were hired in tech
roles in non-tech businesses, which is an important outcome for small business owners who need a
greater online presence and increasingly manage their business through cloud technologies.
The Online Resource Grant Program may also provide funding for small business technical assistance
centers, such as Small Business Development Centers and Minority Business Development Centers,
which have been requesting resources to establish and maintain online platforms to better serve their
clients. Initial state funding did not include IT infrastructure as an eligible cost, which became an
issue during the early months of the pandemic as some of these centers experienced a 5X increase in
small business clients.
Another online platform heavily utilized during the pandemic is the CalFLEXI Platform, which
supports the needs of California’s irregular workforce. Sponsored by the Pacific Gateway Workforce
Partnership (Long Beach Workforce Development Board), in partnership with Beyond Jobs
(nonprofit), the platform helps workers get the appropriate training to provide in-home childcare,
while also supporting the technology for essential workers to schedule qualified childcare to match
their often irregular and nontraditional work hours.
The Beyond Jobs serves as the employer of record, thereby ensuring the child care provider is
equitably treated, receives a W-2 with benefits, and insurance. Pilot funding was provided through
City of Long Beach CARES Act funding and by the Annie Casey Foundation, Walmart Foundation,
Kauffman Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Irvine Foundation, and Workers’ Lab. The pilot won
the US Conference of Mayors’ prize for best job or economic development initiative in America in
2020. With the pilot successfully completed, other regions could benefit, but, as noted earlier,
funding online platforms is not an eligible cost in many public programs.
2) Economic Justice and Building an Equitable Economy: Those individuals and communities most
impacted by the coronavirus emergency have been and continue to be California’s most vulnerable
and historically underinvested neighborhoods and groups of individuals.
This is not a new trend. Research shows that the inequality between the residents in low-income
communities and those that reside in California’s most affluent communities has dramatically
increased in the past several decades. For example, the pretax income among the highest 1% of
California taxpayers increased from 9.82% in 1980 to 25.1% of total income in 2013. During the last
seven years, the pace of these disparities has only increased. This rise in economic disparity has
significant social and economic ramifications for everyone in the state.
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolded, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDPC) began reporting that “current data suggest a disproportionate burden of illness and death
among racial and ethnic minority groups.” In identifying factors that may be related to these findings,
the CDCP noted that “[h]ealth differences between racial and ethnic groups are often due to economic
and social conditions that are more common among some racial and ethnic minorities than whites.”
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PolicyLink, in its COVID-19 economic recovery strategy, called for “sustained and race-conscious
policies and investments to stabilize people during the crisis and bridge to a more equitable future.”
In taking actions to respond and economically recover from the pandemic, PolicyLink recommended
that policymakers be guided by three principles:
Ensure economic security during the crisis.
Use stimulus funds to build the next economy.
Forge a new social contract that enables shared prosperity.
PolicyLink is not an outlier in calling for targeted investment in communities of color and focusing on
building a more equitable economy. Addressing the systemic and complex challenges faced by
California’s low-income neighborhoods of color will require deep economic, workforce, and
community development work over a sustained period of time.
Technology can play an important part in increasing access and consistent participation for individuals
who need to work or meet other obligations during traditional class time or live in areas where public
transportation does not reasonably connect to traditional classroom locations. Online platforms can be
transformational for individuals by providing access to high quality training and new employment
opportunities.
3) The Challenge of Income Inequality during COVID-19: While California’s dominance in
innovation-based industries is unquestionable, the divide between the middle- and lower-income
households and the top income earners is accelerating. Even when California’s unemployment rate
was at historic lows pre-pandemic, unemployment within certain geographic regions and population
groups remained significantly higher, as did the number of people in the state who were not
participating within the core economy. In March 2020, California reported an unemployment rate of
5.1% as compared to the US rate of 4.5%. From the employment side, this represents 18.1 million
people in California, with (according to 12-month moving average) 82.5% being employed in full
time work.
The State of California Economic Development Department, in March 2020 (not seasonally adjusted),
reported three of California’s 58 counties had unemployment below 3.0%, with San Mateo County
reporting the lowest at 2.5%. The highest unemployment was reported in Colusa (21.4%). Year-over
(March 2019- March 2020), three counties experienced an unemployment rate decline, three counties
experienced no change in unemployment rate and 52 experienced unemployment rate increases from
the prior year.
Chart 1 – Selected Data on Unemployment shows unemployment-related information by selected
counties and population groups for a time period that includes COVID-19, March 2020 to March
2021. Comparable unemployment date for January 2022 is also included.
Chart 1 - Selected Data on Unemployment (2020-2021)
Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
(12 month moving average)
March March January March March January
2020 2021 2022 2020 2021 2022
California 5.1% 8.2% 5.5% California 4.1% 11.1% 6.9%
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Colusa County 21.4% 15.4% 14.8% Blacks 5.2% 13.9% 11.3%
Imperial County 20.4% 15.7% 15.6% Hispanics 4.7% 12.5% 7.6%
Los Angeles County 5.6% 10.9% 6.1% Whites 4.0% 10.8% 6.5%
16 to 19
Orange County 4.19% 7.0% 4.2% 15.1% 24.5% 14.9%
years old
20 to 24
Riverside County 4.7% 7.7% 5.6% 7.6% 17.5% 10.9%
years old
25 to 34
Sacramento County 4.3% 7.4% 5.4% 4.1% 11.7% 6.7%
years old
San Bernardino County 4.4% 7.8% 5.7% *The Employment Development Department
reports a March 2021 (12-month moving
San Luis Obispo County 3.5% 5.8% 3.6% average) Labor Participation Rate (LPR) of
San Mateo County 2.5% 5.0% 3.1% 60.2% with 12.4 million people in California
representing those who were not participating in
the workforce (the remaining 38.8%). The LPR
Tulare County 13.2% 11.6% 9.5% for veterans is 42.4% vs nonveterans LPR of
63.3%.
Source: www.edd.ca.gov
In March 2021, California was reported to have an unemployment rate of 8.2% (not seasonally adjusted)
compared to the US rate of 6.2%. From the employment side, this represents 17.3 million people,
with 83.0% (based on a 12-month moving average) being employed in full-time work. In January 2022, the
unemployment rate was reported at 5.5%, reflecting approximately 1.1 million unemployed workers.
As illustrated in Chart 1, the disparities among population groups continued, and most cases increased
for certain areas of the state and individuals from certain demographics. For example, unemployment
among Blacks in March 2020 was at a historic low of 5.2%, which was still above the state average of
4.1%. One year into COVID-19 and the disparity between the rate of Black unemployment and the
statewide rate substantially increased (13.9% compared to 11.1%.) A comparison of January 2022
unemployment shows the difference is even greater than in March 2021, with the Black
unemployment rate being reported as 11.3% versus 6.9% for the workforce as a whole.
The disparities shown in these charts are driven by and also influence a range of economic and
societal issues, including, but not limited to, minimal educational attainment, economic insecurity,
poor health outcomes, negative engagements with law enforcement, and lack of a safety net for the
elderly and individuals with special needs. COVID-19 magnified these effects, further putting strains
on already struggling low-wage workers, particularly in the Black and Latinx communities.
The California Latino Economic Institute released a policy brief in December 2020, which provides
further data on the disparate and growing negative impact of COVID-19 on Latinos in California.
Among other findings, the briefing noted the following:
Latinos are overrepresented among California’s COVID-19 cases and deaths—59% of cases and
49% of the state’s deaths.
Latino overrepresentation in California’s cases has increased since April 2020.
Nearly 12% of California Latinos are currently uninsured—double the rate of other groups.
Latino unemployment rates are double those from the same time last year.
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Nearly two-thirds of California Latinos report experiencing a loss of employment income since
March 2020.
Over 40% of Latinos currently report that it is somewhat or very difficult to pay their usual
household expenses in the last seven days.
Over three-quarters of California small business owners report that COVID-19 has had a moderate
to large effect on their businesses.
There are a number of reasons that contribute to the disparate health impacts of COVID-19, including
economic differences. During COVID, Latinos and Blacks have comprised a significant component
of the state’s essential workforce. While a majority of White workers have jobs that allow them to
work from home and decrease potential COVID-19 exposure, Latinos and Blacks, due to economic
circumstances, have jobs in high-risk environments.
This increased exposure to COVID-19, combined with the socio-economic impacts on underlying
health, resulted in a statistically higher number of cases and deaths compared to the group’s percent of
the population. Chart 2 provides information from the California Department of Public Health
relating to COVID-19 cases in California by race and ethnicity. Data is current as of March 23, 2022.
Chart 2 - COVID-19 Case Loads and Outcomes by Race and Ethnicity
Race/Ethnicity Percent Percent Percent CA
No. Deaths
Cases Deaths population
Latino 47.7% 37,679 43.9% 38.9%
White 24.3% 29,297 34.2% 36.6%
Asian 8.8% 9,383 10.9% 15.4%
African American 5.3% 5,928 6.9% 6.0%
Multi-Race 1.1% 1,265 1.5% 2.2%
American Indian or Alaska Native 0.5% 399 0.5% 0.5%
Native Hawaiian & other Pacific Islander 0.7% 537 0.6% 0.3%
Other 11.7% 1,263 1.5% ---
Total with data 100% 85,751 100% 100%
Source: California Department of Public Health, accessed March 27, 2022
The chart above, All Cases and Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Race and Ethnicity, represents
data from 6,867,970 total cases, with 20% of those cases missing race/ethnicity. There are a total of
87,629 deaths, with approximately 2% of those deaths missing race/ethnicity.
4) Creating On-Ramps to Success: The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014
represents the most significant shift in federal workforce policy in several decades. Among other
requirements, the act mandates that the state develop a plan for making workforce investments, set
goals, and report on their progress. Future federal funding will be dependent on the state meeting
established milestones leading to these goals.
California’s Unified Strategic Workforce Development Plan (State Plan) outlines a comprehensive
four-year strategy for investing federal workforce training and employment service dollars in a
manner that aligns and coordinates six core Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funded
programs. The state framework calls for operatizing a high road workforce development agenda that
fosters demand-driven skills attainment and enabling upward mobility for all Californians. The prior
state goal referred to a similar concepts for producing one million “middle-skill” industry valued and
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recognized postsecondary credentials. In meeting the high road jobs framework, the State Plan
anticipates creating 500,000 people enrolled in apprenticeship programs by 2029.
While these are certainly laudable goals to guide the state’s workforce investment system, achieving
those goals will be challenging. Key among those challenges is the significant number of workers
who are not currently ready to take on high road and middle-skill training. Current estimates are that
20.6% of the California workforce have a high school diploma or equivalent as their highest level of
formal education. It is no surprise that in 2012 (data from when WIOA plans were being formulated),
there were 1.9 million unfilled middle skill jobs. The Employment Development Department (EDD)
estimated that this number would grow as one-third of middle-skill workers retire over the next ten
years.
5) Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act and California Workforce Board: Enacted in 2014, the
Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA provides states with federal funding for job training
and employment investment activities and programs, including work incentive and employment
training outreach programs. Distribution of the funds is based on a set formula that includes specified
economic and demographic data and flows to the state through three primary programs: Adult, Youth,
and Dislocated Worker.
California’s workforce development funding from the U.S. Department of Labor has declined from a
high of $630 million in 2000-01 to $411 million in 2012-13. Federal law dictates that 85% of Adult
and Youth formula funds, and 60% of Dislocated Worker formula funds, are distributed to local
workforce development boards. Funding for the state’s discretionary activities is derived from the
15% discretionary funds.
California received approximately $400 million in WIOA Title I funds for 2021-22, with $340 million
being allocated to local workforce development boards to provide services for adults, laid-off workers,
and youth, and $60 million remaining at the state-level for program oversight and discretionary
programs. In September 2020, the Employment Development Department and CWDB were awarded
$14.5 million from the US Department of Education from CARES Act funds.
California’s WIOA dollars are overseen by the 45-member CWDB, of which 51% of the members
represent the private sector, as required by federal law. The CWDB has 36.5 authorized positions and
is currently led by Executive Director Tim Rainey. In 2008, a Green Collar Jobs Council was
established to address the workforce development needs of the emerging clean and green economy.
There are 45 local workforce development boards that plan for and oversee the workforce system at
the local and regional levels. Local workforce boards are comprised of a range of workforce
stakeholders, a majority of which are required to be representatives of businesses. Each local
workforce development board has one or more One-Stop Career Centers, called American Job Centers
under WIOA, which provide access to career information, counseling, and funding for education,
training, and supportive services.
6) On-Going and COVID-19 Programs of the CWDB: Among other duties, the CWDB provides
advice to the Governor and Legislature, oversees the state’s implementation of the WIOA, and
generally serves as the state's primary place where labor, business, industry, and education
stakeholders come together. The current Board works closely with Governor’s Office of Business and
Economic Development (GO-Biz) to address economic development challenges and to create career
pathways that provide businesses the skilled workforce they need, as well as putting unemployed and
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underemployed Californians back to work. During COVID-19, the Board, which is comprised of 45+
labor and business representatives, is active in a number of initiatives, including:
On-Going Initiatives:
o AB 1111 (E. Garcia, Arambula, Baker, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Maienschein, Quirk-Silva,
Reyes, Santiago, and Steinorth with Principal Co-Author Waldron) Breaking Barriers to
Employment Initiative
o High Road Construction Careers
o High Road Training Partnerships
o Regional Collaboration, Regional Plan Implementation – includes the Regional Equity and
Recovery Program
o Workforce Accelerator Fund
o Workforce Corrections Partnership
Pending Initiative:
o AB 639 (Cervantes) Port Transition to a Lower Carbon Economy, which creates a stakeholder
process for unions, port authorities, legislators, and the public [in the LA/Long Beach port
complex – the busiest port in the western hemisphere] to develop findings on the effects of
automation and to mitigate the impact on workers. The intent is to find a way to get labor and
management to move together with workers on the issue of automation.
o Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-19-21, which ordered, among other things:
o By December 31, 2021, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency shall
take all necessary actions to constitute and announce the membership of the industry panel
required by AB 639 and codified at Government Code section 12893.1 (a). The Secretary
of Labor shall convene the panel for its first meeting by March 1, 2022.
o The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency shall use existing resources to
identify potential high road training partnerships to increase education, career technical
education, job training, and workforce development opportunities for port workers and
other workers across the supply chain. In identifying such opportunities, the California
Labor and Workforce Development Agency shall first consider whether such partnerships
can be funded through existing sources, such as the federal Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act.
7) Proposed Amendments: Below is a list of amendments the committee members may wish to review
when considering the bill.
a) Switch the program administration from the CWDB to EDD.
b) Create a separate fund rather than an account within the Breaking Barriers to Employment Fund.
c) Address the issue of residual value of the platform and for-profit companies receiving grants.
a) Make other technical changes to clarify the purposes of the bill.
8) Related Legislation: Below is a list of bills from the current and prior sessions.
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a) AB 630 (Arambula) Online Jobs and Economic Support Platform: This bill establishes the
Online Jobs and Economic Support Resource Grant Program to support inclusive, cross-
jurisdictional, and innovative online platforms that support job and earning opportunities and
economic recovery with a strong focus on underserved and economically challenged communities.
Status: Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee, May 2021.
b) AB 1111 (Garcia, Arambula, Eggman, Maienschein, Quirk-Silva, Santiago, and Steinorth)
Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative: This bill established the Breaking Barriers to
Employment Initiative to assist individuals who have multiple barriers to employment to receive
the remedial education and work readiness skills that will help them to successfully participate in
training, apprenticeship, or employment opportunities that will lead to self-sufficiency and
economic stability. Status: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 825, Statutes of 2017.
c) AB 1270 (E. Garcia and Hernández) Alignment of Federal and State Workforce Training
Systems: This bill comprehensively updates California's primary workforce development program
to reflect the new requirements of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.
While the bill conforms state law to the new federal law, it maintains core state policies related to
the significance of regional economies and sector strategies, preparation of a workforce ready to
support dominant and emerging industries, and the development of career pathways that provide
workers with economic security and career advancement. Status: Signed by the Governor,
Chapter 94, Statutes of 2015.
d) SB 118 (Lieu) Workforce Investment Board: This bill requires the California Workforce
Investment Board to incorporate specific principles into the state’s strategic plan that align the
education and workforce investment systems of the state with the needs of the 21st century
economy and promote a well-educated and highly skilled workforce to meet the future workforce
needs. Status: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 562, Statutes of 2013.
e) SB 1402 (Lieu) California Workforce and Economic Development Program: This bill recasts
and revises the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program
to more closely align with economic and workforce practices and extends the program’s sunset
date from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2018. Status: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 361,
Statutes of 2012.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Bitwise Industries (sponsor)
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by: Toni Symonds / J., E.D., & E. / (916) 319-2090
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