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Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in §12730 in subsection 2 in paragraph B in the last line (page 1, line 25 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "jobs; and" and inserting the following: 'jobs or in an industry in which technology or work practices have significantly changed to require training to assist new workers to acquire needed skills or incumbent workers to remain current and competitive;'
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in §12730 in subsection 2 in paragraph C in the last line (page 1, line 29 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "employment." and inserting the following: 'employment; and'
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in §12730 in subsection 2 by inserting after paragraph C the following:
 
‘D. In order to participate, a business must agree to hire a person who successfully completes the job training program at a post-training wage that is at least $2.50 per hour more than the minimum hourly wage rate established in state law and to provide successful incumbent worker trainees with an increase in the hourly wage to meet or exceed the median wage for that occupation in the State as identified by the Center for Workforce Research and Information within the Department of Labor.’
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in §12730 in subsection 3 in the 3rd line (page 1, line 32 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "training program." the following: 'If the job training program includes academic credit, the program may coordinate with the financial aid office of the sponsoring postsecondary education institution to deliver an award to an individual student; the award must be used to assist with all or partial unmet expenses for tuition, fees or books after any existing financial aid resources are used.
Amend the bill in Part A in section 1 in §12730 by striking out all of subsection 4 (page 1, lines 34 and 35 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
 
‘4.  Rules.     The Board of Trustees of the Maine Community College System shall amend or adopt as necessary the centers’ operational policies and procedures in order to implement the provisions of this section. In selecting awardees for the program, the board of trustees shall consider:
 
A.  Whether the business provides fringe benefits and what those fringe benefits are;
 
B.  Economic impacts to the local or regional economy;
 
C.  The ability of the business to leverage other resources both in the short term and the long term;
 
D.  The record of the business in training individuals who have historically faced barriers to employment and individuals who are unemployed or underemployed;
 
E.  Occupational outcomes of individuals who have been trained by the business; and
 
F.  Factors determined appropriate by the board of trustees.
 
Recruitment of prospective trainees and preliminary screening and testing for funded partnerships must be done in conjunction with the Department of Labor’s career centers, as well as with state job training providers, industry partners and other referring organizations as appropriate and consistent with the program.
 
To be considered eligible for training under this program, applicants must meet the specific training program’s related academic and admissions standards. Individuals that do not meet threshold academic standards may be referred to available community remediation services. Individuals enrolled in the program must maintain satisfactory academic performance and meet all requirements in order to continue enrollment in the program.’
Amend the bill in Part A by striking out all of sections 2 and 3 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM, BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE MAINE
 
Community College System - Maine Quality Centers 0804
 
Initiative: Provides funds for needs-based tuition assistance and grants for persons participating in the Put ME to Work Program and to be used to match funding or in-kind contributions by businesses participating in the Put ME to Work Program.

GENERAL FUND	2015-16	2016-17	
All Other	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	
 
’
Amend the bill by striking out all of Part B.
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development, eliminates the $100,000 funding in the bill for the Industry Partnership Assistance Collaborative and instead adds it to the appropriation for the Maine Community College System's Maine Quality Centers for a total of $1,000,000 in each year of the fiscal biennium. The Maine Quality Centers appropriation is consolidated to include use both for tuition assistance for individuals participating in workforce training and to match funding and contributions from participating businesses.
The amendment directs the Board of Trustees of the Maine Community College System to adopt necessary policies and procedures for the Maine Quality Centers, including consideration of at least 5 specific factors. It also requires program participants to use existing financial aid resources available through their sponsoring postsecondary education institution before using program resources, which may be used only for unmet expenses for tuition, fees or books.
Additionally, the amendment requires participating employers under the Put ME to Work Program to hire successful trainees at a rate at least $2.50 per hour more than the minimum hourly wage rate as set in Maine statute and to pay incumbent worker trainees an hourly wage that meets or exceeds the median wage for that occupation as identified by the Center for Workforce Research and Information within the Department of Labor.
The amendment eliminates the provision of the bill that allows employers to make voluntary donations to the Competitive Skills Scholarship Fund.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)