H.B. 283
128th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Reps. S. Williams, Garland, Hagan, Domenick, Yuko, Phillips, Schneider
BILL SUMMARY
· Requires the Director of Development to administer a grant program to provide grants for training for individuals seeking employment in the biotechnology or bioscience fields or other critical-demand fields.
· Lists the entities, including municipal corporations and employers, that are eligible to apply for and receive grants.
· Lists the types of training programs an entity must offer to be eligible to receive a grant.
· Limits the amount of a grant awarded under the bill to 50% of the allowable costs as defined by the bill.
· Directs the Director to require a Department of Development employee to conduct at least one on-site visit to monitor the application of the grant and compliance with the bill.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
The bill requires the Director of Development to provide grants to eligible entities to provide training for individuals who are not employed, but wish to receive training to be employed, in the biotechnology field or bioscience sector. Under the bill, "bioscience sector" includes companies that manufacture medical devices, biopharmaceutical products, biofuel, or agricultural bioproducts; health care service companies; health care organizations; and medical research organizations. The Director may also provide grants for any other field in which critical demand exists for certain skills. (R.C. 122.042(A) and (B).)
Under the bill, municipal corporations and employers, including an employer's intermediary or training agent, that provide a training program as outlined by the bill may apply for a grant. Any of the following entities that sponsor multi-employee training projects that offer programs outlined in the bill also are eligible to apply, if those projects will address common training needs identified by employers who elect to participate in the project offered by the entity: business associations, strategic business partnerships, institutions of secondary or higher education, large manufacturers for supplier network companies, and agencies of the state or of a political subdivision of the state or recipients of grants under the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. (R.C. 122.042(C).)
The bill allows the Director to award grants to eligible applicants if, in the application, the applicant specifies that the money received from the grant will be used for employee training programs that include any of the following:
(1) Training programs that are in response to new or changing technology introduced into the workplace;
(2) Job-linked training programs that offer special skills for career advancement or that are preparatory for, and lead directly to, a job with definite career potential and long-term job security;
(3) Training programs that are necessary to implement a total quality management system, a total quality improvement system, or both, within the workplace;
(4) Training related to learning how to operate new machinery or equipment;
(5) Training for employees of companies that are expanding into new markets or expanding reports from Ohio and that provide jobs in Ohio;
(6) Basic training, remedial training, or both, of employees as a prerequisite for other vocational or technical skills training or as a condition for sustained employment;
(7) Other training activities, training projects, or both, related to the support, development, or evaluation of job training programs, activities, and delivery systems, including training needs assessment and design. (R.C. 122.042(D).)
The bill directs the Director to adopt rules to establish the terms and conditions under which a grant may be awarded under the bill and generally to implement the grant program. The rules must include a requirement that a non-employer applicant must specify in the application employers who will benefit from the training the entity provides to ensure that the training provided satisfies the needs of employers located in the area where the entity provides the training programs listed above. (R.C. 122.042(E).) The Director also must adopt rules to establish methods and procedures the Director must use to identify transitional jobs and to develop and identify training strategies that will enable individuals who are not employed in the biotechnology field or the bioscience sector to be employed in that field or sector (R.C. 122.042(G)).
No grant awarded under the bill for training programs can be for an amount that exceeds 50% of the allowable costs of the training programs. Allowable costs include: administrative costs for tracking, documenting, reporting, and processing training funds or project costs; costs for developing a curriculum; wages for instructors and for individuals receiving training if those individuals are employed by the employer offering the training; costs incurred for producing training materials, including scrap product costs; trainee travel expenses; costs for rent, purchase, or lease of training equipment; and other usual and customary training costs. (R.C. 122.042(E).)
Money received from the grant may be used only for the specified program for which the entity applied. However, a municipal corporation that receives a grant may use the money for a training program that is also funded under the federal Workforce Investment Act. (R.C. 122.042(F).)
The Director must require an employee of the Department of Development to conduct at least one on-site visit to monitor the application of the grant and compliance with the bill and any other rules the Director adopts pursuant to it, either during the course of the grant period or within six months after the end of that period. The employee must verify that the grantee's financial management system is structured to provide for accurate, current, and complete disclosure of the financial results of the grant program in accordance with all provisions, terms, and conditions contained in the grant contract entered into by the grantee and the Director pursuant to the bill and any rules the Director adopts pursuant to it. (R.C. 122.042(H).)
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
09-23-09 |
h0283-i-128.docx/kl