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2017 Tennessee Code
Title 50 - Employer and Employee
Chapter 7 - Tennessee Employment Security Law
Part 4 - Premiums
§ 50-7-451. Job skills program -- Job skills fee -- Job skills fund -- Grants -- Reports to general assembly.
Universal Citation: TN Code § 50-7-451 (2017)
- (a)
- (1) The Tennessee job skills program is created in the department of economic and community development as a workforce development incentive program to enhance employment opportunities and to meet the needs of existing and new industries in this state.
- (2) The program shall give priority to the creation and retention of high wage jobs and focus on employers in industries that promote high-skill, high-wage jobs in high-technology areas, emerging occupations or skilled manufacturing jobs.
- (3) At least seventy percent (70%) of the Tennessee job skills funds, as provided in subsection (b), that are spent on Tennessee job skills grants shall be used for assisting existing employers.
- (b)
- (1) The Tennessee job skills fund is established as a separate account in the general fund.
- (2) The Tennessee job skills fund is composed of:
- (A) Money transferred into the Tennessee job skills fund from Tennessee job skills fees collected for calendar quarters occurring through December 31, 2001;
- (B) Gifts, grants, and other donations received by the department of economic and community development for the Tennessee job skills fund; and
- (C) Funds appropriated by the general assembly for the Tennessee job skills fund.
- (3) Money in the Tennessee job skills fund may be used by the department of economic and community development for program administration, marketing expenses, and program evaluation; however, the expenses shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the total amount appropriated for the program in any fiscal year.
- (4)
- (A) Amounts remaining in the Tennessee job skills fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
- (B) Moneys in the Tennessee job skills fund shall be invested by the state treasurer pursuant to title 9, chapter 4, part 6, for the sole benefit of the Tennessee job skills fund, and interest accruing on investments and deposits of the fund shall be returned to the fund and remain part of the Tennessee job skills fund.
- (5) It is the intent of the general assembly that, to the extent practicable, money from the Tennessee jobs skills program shall be spent in all areas of the state.
- (c)
- (1) The general assembly shall annually, in the general appropriations act, appropriate the amount to be available in that fiscal year for Tennessee job skills grants. It is the legislative intent that new commitments for Tennessee job skills grants made by the commissioner of economic and community development from the Tennessee job skills fund program shall not exceed appropriations made for such purposes. It is further the legislative intent that in each fiscal year the Tennessee job skills program be managed so that actual expenditures and obligations to be recognized at the end of the fiscal year shall not exceed any available reserves and appropriations of the programs.
- (2) The commissioner of economic and community development shall annually report to the finance, ways and means committees of the house of representatives and the senate and the consumer and human resources committee of the house of representatives, the commerce and labor committee of the senate and the office of legislative budget analysis on the status of the Tennessee job skills appropriation. The report shall incorporate the information required to be filed by each employer who receives a Tennessee job skills grant pursuant to subsection (d), as well as including information concerning the amount of each grant authorized and each commitment accepted since the previous report and the name of the employer receiving the benefit of the grant or commitment, the total outstanding grants and commitments and the total unobligated appropriation.
- (3) The following employers may apply for a Tennessee job skills grant from the Tennessee job skills fund:
- (A) One (1) or more employers to secure training for demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing occupations;
- (B) One (1) or more employers acting in partnership with an employer organization, labor organization, or community-based organization to secure training for demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing occupations; and
- (C) One (1) or more employers acting in partnership with a consortium composed of more than one (1) provider to secure training for demand occupations, emerging occupations, or manufacturing occupations.
- (4) All Tennessee job skills grant applications must contain the following:
- (A) The number and kinds of jobs available;
- (B) The skills and competencies required for the identified jobs;
- (C) The starting wages to be paid to trainees on successful completion of the project;
- (D) The goals, objectives, and outcome measurements for the project;
- (E) The proposed curriculum for the project;
- (F) The projected cost per person enrolled, trained, hired and retained in employment; and
- (G) Any other information deemed necessary by the department of economic and community development.
- (5) Tennessee job skills grants from the Tennessee job skills fund shall be awarded only to employers who certify that:
- (A) A job or job opening exists or will exist at the end of the project for which the Tennessee job skills grant is sought;
- (B) Job openings will be filled by participants in the project; and
- (C) The starting wage for a new job created through the project will be equal to or greater than the prevailing starting wage for that occupation in the local labor market area.
- (d) Each employer who receives a Tennessee job skills grant pursuant to this section shall file a final report with the department of economic and community development at the conclusion of the Tennessee job skills grant period that contains the following information:
- (1) The number of participants in the project who are employed at the conclusion of the project;
- (2) The number of participants in the project who are not employed at the end of the project;
- (3) The starting wage of each participant employed; and
- (4) Any other information required by the department of economic and community development.
- (e) The department of economic and community development shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to implement this section. Prior to the formal submission of rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, the department of economic and community development shall submit draft rules and regulations to the finance, ways and means committee of the senate and the finance, ways and means committee of the house of representatives. The committees shall comment on the rules and regulations within sixty (60) days.
- (f) The department of economic and community development shall report annually to the finance, ways and means committee of the senate and the finance, ways and means committee of the house of representatives on the Tennessee jobs skills program. On February 1, 2002, and every year thereafter, the comptroller of the treasury shall report to the finance, ways and means committee of the senate and the finance, ways and means committee of the house of representatives on the utilization of the funds.
- (g) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
- (1) "Demand occupation" means an occupation in which, as a result of business development, there is or will be positive job growth to job replacement ratios within the next twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) months, according to the best available sources of state and local labor market information;
- (2) "Emerging occupation" means an occupation that arises from forces related to technological changes in the workplace and the work of which cannot be performed by workers from other occupations without customized education or training; and
- (3) "Existing employer," when used in reference to an employer's eligibility for a Tennessee job skills grant, as described in this section, means an employer that has been liable to pay unemployment insurance premiums under this chapter for more than one (1) year.
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