Senate Bill 2758

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-153-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE LEGISLATIVE MEMBERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD TO RECEIVE PER DIEM AND EXPENSES FOR ATTENDING MEETINGS OF THE BOARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-153-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-153-7. (1) There is created the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall be composed of thirty-nine (39) voting members, of which a majority shall be representatives of business and industry in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act.

(a) The Governor shall appoint the following members of the board to serve a term of four (4) years:

(i) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or his/her designee;

(ii) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Municipal League;

(iii) One (1) elected mayor;

(iv) One (1) elected county supervisor;

(v) Two (2) representatives of labor organizations, who have been nominated by state labor federations;

(vi) Two (2) representatives of individuals and organizations that have experience with respect to youth activities;

(vii) One (1) representative of the Mississippi Association of Planning and Development Districts;

(viii) One (1) representative from each of the four (4) workforce areas in the state, who has been nominated by the community colleges in each respective area, with the consent of the elected county supervisors within the respective workforce area; and

(ix) Nineteen (19) representatives of business owners nominated by business and industry organizations, which may include representatives of the various planning and development districts in Mississippi.

(b) The following state officials shall be members of the board:

(i) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security;

(ii) The Executive Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(iii) The State Superintendent of Public Education;

(iv) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority;

(v) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services;

(vi) The Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges.

(d) Four (4) legislators, who shall serve in a nonvoting capacity, two (2) of whom shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor from the membership of the Mississippi Senate, and two (2) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House from the membership of the Mississippi House of Representatives.

(e) The membership of the board shall reflect the diversity of the State of Mississippi.

(f) The Governor shall designate the Chairman of the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board from among the voting members of the board, and a quorum of the board shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the board.

(g) The voting members of the board who are not state employees shall be entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their duties under this chapter, from any funds available for that purpose. Legislative members of the board shall receive per diem and expenses, which shall be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same amounts as provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session; however, no per diem and expenses shall be paid for attending meetings of the board without prior approval of the proper committee in their respective houses.

(h) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall be responsible for providing necessary administrative, clerical and budget support for the State Workforce Investment Board.

(2) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall establish limits on administrative costs for each portion of Mississippi's workforce development system consistent with the federal Workforce Investment Act or any future federal workforce legislation.

(3) The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall have the following duties:

(a) Develop and submit to the Governor a strategic plan for an integrated state workforce development system that aligns resources and structures the system to more effectively and efficiently meet the demands of Mississippi's employers and job seekers. This plan will comply with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended;

(b) Assist the Governor in the development and continuous improvement of the statewide workforce investment system that shall include:

(i) Development of linkages in order to assure coordination and nonduplication among programs and activities; and

(ii) Review local workforce development plans that reflect the use of funds from the federal Workforce Investment Act, Wagner-Peyser Act and the Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act;

(c) Recommend the designation of local workforce investment areas as required in Section 116 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. There shall be four (4) workforce investment areas that are generally aligned with the planning and development district structure in Mississippi. Planning and development districts will serve as the fiscal agents to manage Workforce Investment Act funds, oversee and support the local workforce investment boards aligned with the area and the local programs and activities as delivered by the one-stop employment and training system. The planning and development districts will perform this function through the provisions of the county cooperative service districts created under Sections 19-3-101 through 19-3-115; however, planning and development districts currently performing this function under the Interlocal Cooperation Act of 1974, Sections 17-13-1 through 17-13-17, may continue to do so;

(d) Assist the Governor in the development of an allocation formula for the distribution of funds for adult employment and training activities and youth activities to local workforce investment areas;

(e) Recommend comprehensive, results-oriented measures that shall be applied to all Mississippi's workforce development system programs;

(f) Assist the Governor in the establishment and management of a one-stop employment and training system conforming to the requirements of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended, recommending policy for implementing the Governor's approved plan for employment and training activities and services within the state. In developing this one-stop career operating system, the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board, in conjunction with local workforce investment boards, shall:

(i) Design broad guidelines for the delivery of workforce development programs;

(ii) Identify all existing delivery agencies and other resources;

(iii) Define appropriate roles of the various agencies to include an analysis of service providers' strengths and weaknesses;

(iv) Determine the best way to utilize the various agencies to deliver services to recipients; and

(v) Develop a financial plan to support the delivery system that shall, at a minimum, include an accountability system;

(g) Assist the Governor in reducing duplication of services by urging the local workforce investment boards to designate the local community/junior college as the operator of the WIN Job Center. Incentive grants of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) from federal Workforce Investment Act funds may be awarded to the local workforce boards where the community/junior college district is designated as the WIN Job Center. These grants must be provided to the community and junior colleges for the extraordinary costs of coordinating with the Workforce Investment Act, advanced technology centers and advanced skills centers. In no case shall these funds be used to supplant state resources being used for operation of workforce development programs;

(h) To provide authority, in accordance with any executive order of the Governor, for developing the necessary collaboration among state agencies at the highest level for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter;

(i) To monitor the effectiveness of the workforce development centers and WIN job centers;

(j) To advise the Governor, public schools, community/junior colleges and institutions of higher learning on effective school-to-work transition policies and programs that link students moving from high school to higher education and students moving between community colleges and four-year institutions in pursuit of academic and technical skills training;

(k) To work with industry to identify barriers that inhibit the delivery of quality workforce education and the responsiveness of educational institutions to the needs of industry;

(l) To provide periodic assessments on effectiveness and results of the overall Mississippi comprehensive workforce development system and district councils; and

(m) To assist the Governor in carrying out any other responsibility required by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended.

(4) The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall coordinate all training programs and funds in the State of Mississippi.

Each state agency director responsible for workforce training activities shall advise the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board of appropriate federal and state requirements. Each such state agency director shall remain responsible for the actions of his agency; however, each state agency and director shall work cooperatively, and shall be individually and collectively responsible to the Governor for the successful implementation of the statewide workforce investment system. The Governor, as the Chief Executive Officer of the state, shall have complete authority to enforce cooperation among all entities within the state that utilize federal or state funding for the conduct of workforce development activities.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.