The Florida Senate

446.602  Regional Workforce Development Boards.--

(1)  One Regional Workforce Development Board shall be appointed in each designated service delivery area. The membership and responsibilities of the board shall be consistent with Pub. L. No. 97-300, as amended. The board shall be appointed by the chief elected official or his or her designee of the local county or city governing bodies or consortiums of county and/or city governmental units that exist through interlocal agreements and shall include:

(a)  At least 51 percent of the members of each board being from the private sector and being chief executives, chief operating officers, owners of business concerns, or other private sector executives with substantial management or policy responsibility.

(b)  Representatives of organized labor and community-based organizations, who shall constitute not less than 15 percent of the board members.

(c)  Representatives of educational agencies, including presidents of local community colleges, superintendents of local school districts, licensed private postsecondary educational institutions participating in vocational education and job training in the state and conducting programs on the Occupational Forecasting Conference list or a list validated by the Regional Workforce Development Board; vocational rehabilitation agencies; economic development agencies; public assistance agencies; and public employment service. One of the representatives from licensed private postsecondary educational institutions shall be from a degree-granting institution, and one from an institution offering certificate or diploma programs. One of these members shall be a nonprofit, community-based organization which provides direct job training and placement services to hard-to-serve individuals including the target population of people with disabilities.

The current Private Industry Council may be restructured, by local agreement, to meet the criteria for a Regional Workforce Development Board.

(2)  In addition to the duties and functions specified by the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership and by the interlocal agreement approved by the local county or city governing bodies, the Regional Workforce Development Board shall have the following responsibilities:

(a)  Review, approve, and ratify the local Job Training Partnership Act plan which also must be signed by the chief elected officials.

(b)  Conclude agreements necessary to designate the fiscal agent and administrative entity.

(c)  Complete assurances required for the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership charter process and provide ongoing oversight related to administrative costs, duplicated services, career counseling, economic development, equal access, compliance and accountability, and performance outcomes.

(3)  The Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership shall, by January 1, 1997, design and implement a training program for the Regional Workforce Development Boards to familiarize board members with the state's workforce development goals and strategies.

The Regional Workforce Development Board shall designate all local service providers and shall not transfer this authority to a third party. In order to exercise independent oversight, the Regional Workforce Development Board shall not be a direct provider of intake, assessment, eligibility determinations, or other direct provider services.

History.--s. 2, ch. 96-404; s. 1072, ch. 97-103.