AB 1273

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law provides for apprenticeship programs within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations, sponsored by specific entities and employers, and requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform various functions with respect to apprenticeship programs and the welfare of apprentices. Under existing law, the Director of Industrial Relations is the Administrator of Apprenticeship and is authorized to appoint assistants necessary to effectuate the purposes of state law governing apprenticeships. Existing law establishes the Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Existing law requires the committee to provide advice and guidance to the Administrator of Apprenticeship and the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards on apprenticeship programs, standards, and agreements, as well as preapprenticeship, certification, and on-the-job training and retraining programs, in nonbuilding trades industries. Existing law prescribes the composition of the committee, which includes specified officials or their designees, serving as ex officio members, and 6 persons appointed by the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development who are familiar with certain apprenticeable occupations, as specified. Existing law establishes within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is under the control of the Director of Consumer Affairs, and is composed of various boards that license and regulate various professions and vocations. Existing law, the Consumer Affairs Act, establishes the powers and duties of the director. Existing law establishes within the California Health and Human Services Agency the State Department of Public Health, which is under the control of the State Public Health Officer, with powers and responsibilities relating to public health, the licensing and certification of health facilities, and certain other functions. This bill would additionally make the State Public Health Officer and the Director of Consumer Affairs ex officio members of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship. Existing law requires the California Workforce Development Board, in consultation with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, to identify opportunities for "earn and learn" job training opportunities that meet the industry's workforce demands and that are in high-wage, high-demand jobs. Existing law defines "earn and learn" to include programs that combine applied learning in a workplace setting with compensation allowing workers or students to gain work experience and secure a wage as they develop skills and competencies directly relevant to the occupation or career for which they are preparing, and programs that bring together classroom instruction with on-the-job training to combine both formal instruction and actual paid work experience. This bill would prohibit the Department of Consumer Affairs and its various boards from approving an accrediting program that prohibits earn and learn programs for training in a profession licensed or certified by the board. The bill would prohibit the State Department of Public Health, in the licensing and certification of health professions, from prohibiting earn and learn programs for training of personnel. The bill would require boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs and the State Department of Public Health to use licensing or certification standards that authorize the use of earn and learn training. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2024. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3071.5 of the Labor Code proposed by AB 565 to be operative only if this bill and AB 565 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.