2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 23:76 — Forecasting

§76.  Forecasting

A.  For the forecasting information component of the system, there shall be information on projected workforce growth and job growth and demand.  The workforce and job growth and demand information shall also reflect occupational information related to those targeted cluster industries identified by the Department of Economic Development.

B.(1)  The information on projected workforce growth shall include the number of individuals employed and the number of individuals able and available for employment at present and projected at a future date certain, both statewide and by geographic regions.

(2)  Occupational information on targeted cluster industries shall include occupational requirements for those industries, training and education levels required for those occupations, and salary information.

C.(1)  For the purpose of projecting job growth and demand, the Occupational Forecasting Conference is hereby established in the office of the governor.  The Occupational Forecasting Conference shall develop such official information with respect to statewide and regional workforce development needs as the conference determines is necessary for state planning and budgeting.  The official information of the conference shall include projections for the state as a whole, projections for the eight regional labor market areas of the state, and occupational needs of targeted cluster industries identified by the Louisiana Economic Development Council.  The forecasts shall be for the fifth year into the future and shall be revised biennially.

(2)  The principals of the conference shall be as follows:

(a)  The governor or his designee.

(b)  The secretary of the Department of Labor or his designee.

(c)  One person appointed by the governor from a list of three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

(d)  One member appointed by the governor from a list of three nominees submitted by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

(e)  One member appointed by the governor from a list of three nominees submitted by the Louisiana Workforce Commission, such nominees shall be three of the non-public commissioners serving on the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

(f)  Two members, each of whom shall be a faculty member of a public or private university or college in Louisiana, who shall be econometricians and have occupational forecasting expertise or expertise in economic planning and industry/occupation matrix formulation, to be selected by the other five principals of the conference from a list of not less than three nor more than five nominees submitted by the Louisiana Higher Education Executive Advisory Committee and the Black Economic Development Council.

(g)  The secretary of the Department of Economic Development or his designee.

(h)  The president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System or his designee.

(3)  The chairman of the conference shall be the principal appointed by the governor from the Louisiana Workforce Commission nominees.

(4)  The conference shall review and evaluate labor market data and information before such forecasts are finalized and adopted.  It may utilize whatever staff, information, and technical expertise which it may determine is required to derive or revise the official job growth and demand forecast.  The conference shall consider relevant national trends in policy and funding as well as state economic strategic plans and goals, including Louisiana: Vision 2020.  Approval of the official forecast of job growth and demand shall be by an affirmative vote of five principals.

(5)  Once the job growth and demand forecasts are derived and approved by the conference, the conference shall determine the skills necessary to fill such needs.  It may utilize the same process as that used for deriving the job growth and demand forecasts.  Approval of the official forecast of the skills necessary to fill the growth and demand jobs shall also be by an affirmative vote of at least six of the nine principals.

(6)  A final report of the top future growth and demand jobs, statewide and by region, and the skills necessary to fill such jobs, including occupations in targeted cluster industries as identified by the Louisiana Economic Development Council, shall be made available for access on the World Wide Web and noted in the Louisiana Register as available on the World Wide Web.  Such report shall also be available for purchase by private parties for the costs of reproduction.  The conference, in coordination with the Workforce Commission, should determine a strategy for promoting and disseminating the final report to the appropriate stakeholder groups as determined by the conference.

(7)  The chairman shall preside over conference sessions, convene conference sessions, request information, specify topics to be included on the conference agenda, and agree or withhold agreement on whether information is to be official information of the conference.  The chairman may designate another principal to preside over a conference session, and in such instances, the designated principal shall have the same authority as that of the chairman.  The conference may release official information of the conference, interpret official information of the conference, and monitor errors in official information of the conference.

(8)  The chairman who is responsible for presiding over a session of a conference is responsible for preparing and distributing the necessary work papers prior to that session of the conference.  Any principal may cancel a meeting of the conference if such work papers have not been distributed prior to the meeting.  The work papers shall include comparisons between alternative information where such comparisons are warranted.

(9)  A principal may invite a participant to participate in the conference.  In such an event, a participant shall, at the request of any principal before or during any session of the conference, develop alternative forecasts, collect and supply data, perform analyses, or provide other information needed by the conference.  The conference shall consider information provided by participants in developing its official information.

(10)  The first final report of the conference shall be issued on or before July 1, 2001, and shall constitute a projection for the year 2006.  Subsequent releases of occupational projections will be based on the most current state industry forecasts as approved by the Occupational Forecasting Conference and shall be the official projections for the state of Louisiana.

(11)  The chairman of the conference shall have the responsibility and authority to oversee and monitor the activities of the Occupational Forecasting Conference.  The conference shall be staffed by the staff of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, at the direction of the conference chairman.  The chairman of the conference and the staff shall upon the request of the chairman of the Louisiana Workforce Commission prepare quarterly updates of conference activities and progress for review by the office of the governor.

Acts 1997, No. 1, §1, eff. April 30, 1997; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 70, §1, eff. May 1, 1998; Acts 2001, No. 782, §1; Acts 2004, No. 283, §1.