ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session
	Senate: NREW DP 9-0-0-0 | APPROP DPA 9-0-1-0 | 3^rd Read 29-1-0-0 House: LARA DP 11-0-0-0

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SB 1150: agricultural workforce program; apprentices; appropriation.

Sponsor:  Senator Shope, LD 8

Committee on Appropriations

Overview

Directs the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Office to establish the Agricultural Workforce Development Program (Program) beginning in 2022 to provide financial incentives for agricultural apprenticeships and appropriates $500,000 in fiscal years (FYs) 2022 and 2023 from the state General Fund to this office to implement the Program.

History

The Cooperative Extension Office was created through the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provides federal funding to agricultural colleges, including the University of Arizona, to conduct cooperative agricultural extension work. This office gives practical demonstrations in agriculture and home economics and imparts information on those subjects through field demonstrations, publications and other efforts.

It collaborates with the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life sciences, all 15 county extension boards and 5 tribal reservations in conducting extension work. The Director of the Cooperative Extension Office works with county extension boards to create an annual plan and budget for extension work, which is then approved by ABOR. This budget includes the total costs of the extension work and the county's share of those costs (A.R.S. § 3-121 et seq.).

Provisions

1. Directs the Cooperative Extension Office to establish the Program to provide incentives to food-producing agricultural organizations to hire apprentices by partially reimbursing apprenticeship costs. (Sec. 1)

2. Appropriates $500,000 in FY 2022 and 2023 from the state General Fund to the Cooperative Extension Office to implement the Program and exempts the appropriation from lapsing. (Sec. 2)

3. Instructs the Director of the Cooperative Extension Office to adopt rules that at a minimum:

a) Establish qualifications for food-producing agricultural organizations to participate in the Program, including the capability to effectively supervise apprentices and providing them with meaningful work experience;

b) Provide a preference for food-producing agricultural organizations owned or operated by farmers and ranchers in rural and tribal areas or who are historically underserved;

c) Require participating food-producing agricultural organizations to pay apprentices at least the Arizona minimum wage;

d) Establish criteria for participating food-producing agricultural organizations to select qualified apprentices, including required educational experience and ability to perform meaningful work;

e) Create a process and time frame for selecting qualified food-producing agricultural organizations and qualified apprentices;

f) Establish accounting requirements for tracking apprenticeship costs;

g) Develop a process for participating food-producing agricultural organization to seek reimbursement; and

h) Seek input from community stakeholders to establish and administer the Program. (Sec. 1)

4. Authorizes the Cooperative Extension Office, subject to legislative appropriations, to reimburse participating food-producing agricultural organizations up to the actual cost of employing an apprentice. (Sec. 1)

5. Requires the Cooperative Extension Office to determine based on the annual legislative appropriation:

a) The number of apprenticeships to approve;

b) The amount of reimbursement per apprenticeship; and

c) Whether a participating food-producing agricultural organization may be reimbursed for more than one apprenticeship in the same fiscal year. (Sec. 1)

6. Allows the Cooperative Extension Office to use up to 10% of appropriated monies for administrative costs. (Sec. 1)

7. Requires the Cooperative Extension Office to submit an annual report regarding the Program's effectiveness on December 1 to the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House and provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State. (Sec. 1)

8. Mandates that the Program becomes effective on January 1, 2022 and terminates on July 1, 2027. (Sec. 1)

9. Defines actual cost, agricultural organization and historically underserved. (Sec. 1)

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13.                   SB 1150

14. Initials PAB/AG     Page 0 Appropriations

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