Unemployment information: California Workforce Development Board: program outcomes.

Under existing law, the information obtained in the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Code is for the exclusive use and information of the Director of Employment Development in the discharge of the director's duties and is not open to the public. Existing law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly access, use, or disclose this confidential information without authorization. Existing law requires the Director of Employment Development to permit the use of information in the director's possession for, among other purposes, to enable specified state agencies to access relevant quarterly wage data for the evaluation and reporting of their respective program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various local, state, and federal laws pertaining to performance measurement and program evaluation. This bill would also require the director, in the above-described circumstances, to permit the use of this data to evaluate and report program performance outcomes pertaining to specified Unemployment Insurance Code and Streets and Highways Code provisions concerning workforce training and investment. By allowing for additional distribution of this information, and thereby expanding the number of persons subject to the access, use, and confidentiality restrictions, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thus imposing a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. Existing law requires the board to assist the Governor with specified tasks, including developing and continuously improving the statewide workforce investment system. This bill would require the board to evaluate program outcomes, including program participant outcomes for all grant programs administered by the board, regardless of funding source. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by AB 794 to be operative only if this bill and AB 794 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.