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2008 Senate Bill 1342: Authorize selective state job training subsidies through community colleges
Public Act 359 of 2008
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- Introduced by Sen. Mark Jansen (R) on May 27, 2008, to authorize a new state job training subsidy for particular employers. This would allow a community college to borrow to pay for training a particular employer’s new hires. The aggregate new debt would be capped at $50 million statewide; principle and interest would be repaid by the state transferring to the college a portion of the personal income tax that the particular employer withholds from the pay of new employees. In essence, the subsidy would be paid out of the state general fund. The bill requires the employer to agree to make the amount of the debt a lien on the firm’s property. However the debt would also be backed by the college’s other revenue sources.
- Referred to the Senate Commerce & Tourism Committee on May 27, 2008.
- Reported in the Senate on October 2, 2008, With the recommendation that the bill pass.
- Referred to the Senate Commerce & Tourism Committee on May 27, 2008.
- Passed 36 to 2 in the Senate on October 2, 2008.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the House on October 15, 2008.
- Referred to the House Commerce Committee on October 15, 2008.
- Referred to the House Education Committee on October 29, 2008.
- Reported in the House on November 12, 2008, without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill pass.
- Substitute offered by Rep. Richard Hammel (D) on November 13, 2008, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance of the bill as previously described. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on November 13, 2008.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Richard Hammel (D) on November 13, 2008, to tie-bar the bill to House Bill 6185, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 6185 is the House version of the identical Senate companion bill, SB 1343. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on November 13, 2008.
- Passed 101 to 0 in the House on November 13, 2008, to authorize a new state job training subsidy for particular employers. This would allow a community college to borrow to pay for training a particular employer’s new hires. The debt and interest would be repaid by the state transferring to the college a portion of the personal income tax that the particular employer withholds from the pay of new employees. In essence, the subsidy would be paid out of the state general fund. The bill requires the employer to agree to make the amount of the debt a lien on the firm’s property. However the debt would also be backed by the college’s other revenue sources.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the Senate on December 4, 2008.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on December 4, 2008, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details and raised the amount of new debt that can be incurred from $50 million to $60 million. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on December 4, 2008.
- Passed 35 to 0 in the Senate on December 4, 2008, to authorize a new state job training subsidy for particular employers. This would allow a community college to borrow to pay for training a particular employer’s new hires. The aggregate new debt would be capped at $60 million statewide; principle and interest would be repaid by the state transferring to the college a portion of the personal income tax that the particular employer withholds from the pay of new employees. In essence, the subsidy would be paid out of the state general fund. The bill requires the employer to agree to make the amount of the debt a lien on the firm’s property. However the debt would also be backed by the college’s other revenue sources.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the House on December 4, 2008.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Richard Hammel (D) on December 10, 2008, to cap the total amount of new debt that can be incurred statewide at $50 million rather than $60 million. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on December 10, 2008.
- Passed 104 to 0 in the House on December 10, 2008, to adopt a version of the selective state job training subsidies through community colleges proposal that caps the total new debt at $50 million statewide.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the Senate on December 11, 2008.
- Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate on December 11, 2008, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on December 23, 2008.
Most Recent Comments
1) "journal statement" by Admin003 on October 3, 2008Senator Switalski’s statement is as follows:
This may, in fact, be a very good bill. I hope it is. I just have a number of questions about it, and I feel like I’m not clear on the effect. I have had a chance to talk to supporters of it. It seems well-intentioned, but I’ve got questions about the definition of what a new job is.
I would be reluctant to take on the repayment on behalf of the community colleges by the state if a job is, say, reclassified. You know, it’s really kind of the same job, or if it’s maybe an outsourced job that is replaced by a fewer number of employees, are we kind of encouraging that? I would want to be very careful about that stuff.
I also understand that perhaps a company could train their own employees with their own supervisors as the teachers and then bill the state for this training. I’m worried about how much oversight we have over that or whether we’re just going to provide free training to all businesses. There’s got to be some kind of controls on that in some way to make sure that we are really getting what we pay for.
I know also that in Iowa they have a provision. Say you provide this training and it’s supposed to be paid back out of the income tax of the employee’s. What if those employees get laid off? Is the state ultimately on the hook for that, or do they default on the bonds? In Iowa they have the ability to levy a property tax to pay those things off. I don’t think we have that same provision in this bill. I want to know what would happen if those bonds are defaulted on. Is the state on the hook?
So it may be a good bill. I’m just unsure and, therefore, I’m just going to vote “no” and hope that these questions get answered as the thing moves through the legislative process.
Reply
Senator Cherry’s statement is as follows:
I voted against Senate Bill No. 1342 not because I thought it was a bad idea. I think it is probably a very good idea, but as I said earlier, there are some issues which still need to be worked out between Treasury and the bill sponsors. I hope that it gets done.
As I said, I don’t want to vote “yes” on a bill before all of those things are worked out. So since we moved it forward in such a fast way today, I reluctantly am voting “no.”
Reply
Introduced in the Senate on May 27, 2008, to authorize a new state job training subsidy for particular employers. This would allow a community college to borrow to pay for training a particular employer’s new hires. The debt and interest would be repaid by the state transferring to the college a portion of the personal income tax that the particular employer withholds from the pay of new employees. In essence, the subsidy would be paid out of the state general fund. The bill requires the employer to agree to make the amount of the debt a lien on the firm’s property. However the debt would also be backed by the college’s other revenue sources
The vote was 36 in favor, 2 opposed and 0 not voting
(Senate Roll Call 601 at Senate Journal 81)
Click here to view bill details.
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