Relates to general powers and duties of the commissioner of labor

Title of bill

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to general powers and duties of the commissioner of labor

Purpose or general idea of bill

To require the Department of Labor to annually publish and post on its website a catalogue listing and describing multiple state and federal funding programs and tax credits for workforce development and preparation, adult education, and skills training.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1. Amends Labor Law Section 21, adding a new subdivision 15.

(a) Requires DOL to annually publish and post on its website a catalogue of workforce development/preparation funding programs and tax credits.

Each funding description would include the following information:

(i) the name of program and administering agency;

(ii) description/purpose of funding program;

(iii) specific URL, if any;

(iv) year established;

(v) catalog of federal domestic assistance number, if any;

(vi) legal authority, statute and regulation citations;

(vii) program and fiscal contact information;

(viii) all eligibility requirements;

(ix) any program and special restrictions;

(x) action(s) required to receive aid;

(xi) a description of aid, including flow of funds between entities, the type of aid formula used, matching requirements and any maintenance of effort;

(xii) amounts appropriated in the most recent three years, broken down by fiscal year and categorized by federal funds, state general funds and state special revenue;

(xiii) all amounts disbursed for the prior two fiscal years; and

(xiv) any data available on outcomes and effectiveness of program.

Section 2. Effective date.

Justification

New York State spends billions of dollars each year on workforce preparation and adult education, and many of the providers of these services rely on state and federal funds. However, the funding is broken up into more than 50 different programs, each with differing amounts, criteria for eligibility and spending, and disbursement rules. Having a complete listing with relevant information would be extremely useful to providers and the public which must piece together the various funding programs. The annual update is necessary because many of the programs' rules and amounts change from year to year.

Prior legislative history

None.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

Minimal.

Effective date

Immediately.