Community Economic Resilience Fund Program.

Existing law establishes the Community Economic Resilience Fund Program within the Workforce Services Branch of the Employment Development Department within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Existing law requires the branch and the Inter-Agency Leadership Team, comprised of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Office of Planning and Research, and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, to administer the program. Existing law makes the team jointly responsible for planning, oversight, and decisionmaking, as specified, and sets forth the specifics of the team's composition and duties. Existing law requires the program to provide financial support to establish and support high road transition collaboratives, as specified, and sets forth requirements for the program and collaboratives. Existing law provides planning grants to establish and support at least one collaborative per region in areas that have had disproportionate impacts due to COVID-19 and requires that implementation grants be awarded on a rolling and competitive basis to fund economic recovery, as specified. Existing law requires the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, working with the Office of Planning and Research, and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to manage the design and operation of the program solicitation and award processes. Existing law also sets forth outcome and reporting requirements for program grantees. This bill would, among other things, require the Inter-Agency Leadership Team to include policies for grant funds to fund business and workforce investments in multiple sectors, and connect, in each of those sectors, to any existing or emerging high road training partnerships, state and federal recognized apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs, and high road construction career training programs, in addition to other workforce programs that support career pathways to high road jobs, require collaboratives to engage local and regional planning efforts, and require the Workforce Services Branch to make available copies of the reports on the internet websites of each agency of the Inter-Agency Leadership Team within 30 days of submitting the reports. The bill would also require representation on the collaboratives to reflect the people and economy of the region. The bill would also authorize a portion of grant funding to be reserved for making planning and implementation grants to Native American tribes, as specified.