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<ns0:Id>20250AB__230099INT</ns0:Id>
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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-19</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Arambula</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act relating to workforce development. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>workforce development</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>Workforce development.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law, the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. The act requires the establishment of a local workforce development board in each local workforce development area of the state to, among other things, plan and oversee the workforce investment system. </html:p>
<html:p>This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to strengthen California’s workforce development infrastructure by modernizing outdated administrative requirements that slow the delivery of workforce investments
and guidance to local partners. The bill also would state the Legislature’s intent to enact legislation to authorize the Employment Development Department to issue operational directives, bulletins, and guidance documents, developed in consultation with local boards and stakeholders, and followed by the adoption of formal regulations, as specified. </html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
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The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
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<html:p>
(1)
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Local workforce development boards serve as the operational backbone of California’s workforce system, connecting jobseekers, employers, and education and training providers across 45 local areas.
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(2)
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The Employment Development Department (EDD) is required under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to allocate federal workforce funds to local boards through subgrant agreements, which provide flexibility, accountability, and efficient fund flow.
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<html:p>
(3)
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When administering state-funded workforce programs,
EDD is currently required to use the state contracting process, governed by the Public Contract Code and overseen by the Department of General Services (DGS), even when distributing funds to the same local boards that already receive federal subgrants. This duplicative structure delays program implementation, increases administrative costs, and diminishes the state’s ability to deploy funds swiftly during economic transitions.
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<html:p>
(4)
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The Legislature intends to authorize a unified subgrant mechanism for both federal and state workforce development funds flowing to local boards, treating these allocations as grants or subventions for public purposes and exempting them from the DGS approval requirements of the Public Contract Code.
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<html:p>
(5)
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The Legislature further finds that EDD’s workforce directives are essential to maintaining statewide consistency and compliance in the administration of
workforce programs. Recent legal interpretations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), however, could require every directive to undergo the formal rulemaking process, inhibiting EDD’s ability to issue timely and responsive operational guidance.
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<html:p>
(b)
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It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to strengthen California’s workforce development infrastructure by modernizing outdated administrative requirements that slow the delivery of workforce investments and guidance to local partners.
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(c)
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(1)
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The Legislature therefore intends to enact legislation to authorize EDD to issue operational directives, bulletins, and guidance documents notwithstanding the APA, provided they are made publicly available, developed in consultation with local boards and stakeholders, and followed by the adoption of formal regulations, where appropriate. This authority
shall mirror the authority granted to the State Department of Social Services for the issuance of all-county letters.
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(2)
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These intended reforms shall be designed to accomplish all of the following objectives:
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(A)
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Promote efficiency in the distribution of both federal and state workforce funds.
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(B)
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Enhance nimbleness in the state’s response to evolving economic and labor market conditions.
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(C)
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Ensure consistency and alignment between state and federal workforce initiatives.
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(D)
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Preserve transparency and accountability in all workforce policy and funding decisions.
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(d)
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It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
to require the Employment Development Department, in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board and representatives of local workforce development boards, to develop implementation procedures consistent with these purposes, ensuring that all workforce funding streams are administered as part of a cohesive, agile statewide system.
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