State government.

(1) Existing law establishes the Labor and Workforce Development Agency in state government, and provides that the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, the executive officer of the agency, is directly responsible to the Governor for the operations of each department, office, and unit within the agency. Existing law requires the secretary to lead the preparation of a biennial California Economic Development Strategic Plan, as specified, and to convene a biennial economic strategy panel, its membership to be composed as specified, to provide recommendations regarding the plan. Existing law requires the secretary to undertake this process anew in each succeeding 2-year cycle in order to update the economic strategy prior to October 31 of each succeeding 2nd year. This bill would revise and recast these provisions relating to the preparation of the California Economic Development Strategic Plan, which this bill would rename the California Economic and Workforce Development Strategy, and would instead require that strategy to be updated every 5 years rather than biennially. The bill would also require the strategy to make recommendations regarding an economic development plan for the state covering a 5-year period, and to contain specified items. The bill would require the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development to lead the preparation of the strategy, and authorize the secretary to call on the assistance of the California Economic Strategy Panel and the California Workforce Investment Board in fulfilling this duty. The bill would also require the secretary to prepare a preliminary strategy, to post that document on the agency's Internet Web site, and to submit written notice of that document's posting to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of each house of the Legislature by July 1, 2011. This bill would also require the relevant policy and fiscal committees of each house of the Legislature to review the preliminary strategy and hold hearings regarding the preliminary strategy, as specified. The bill would require the secretary to prepare the final version of the strategy within 2 months of the final hearing held by a policy or fiscal committee of either house of the Legislature on the preliminary strategy, and to update the strategy on or before October 31 of each succeeding 5th year. (2) Existing law provides for the composition of the California Economic Strategy Panel, as specified. This bill would establish the panel within the office of the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and require it to research, facilitate outreach, and make policy and fiscal recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on issues relating to economic and workforce development. The bill would require the secretary to be the chairperson of the panel, and would provide for the membership of the panel, as specified. The bill would require the panel to meet upon the call of the secretary, who would be required to call at least 2 meetings of the panel per year. The bill would require members of the panel to serve without compensation, but would authorize their reimbursement for actual expenses incurred in connection with their duties. This bill would require the panel, as part of its deliberations in preparing the strategy, to create an assessment addressing specified considerations. The bill would also require the panel to review the strategy within 5 years of the date of its finalization, and every 5 years thereafter, and to make recommendations on how to update the strategy. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.