§383-128  Employment and training fundestablished.  (a)  Effective January 1, 1992, there is established in thestate treasury, apart from all other funds in this State, a special fund to beknown as the employment and training fund.  All assessments collected pursuantto section 383-129 and all other moneys received by the fund from any othersource shall be deposited into the employment and training fund.

(b)  The moneys in the employment and trainingfund may be used for funding:

(1)  The operation of the state employment service forwhich no federal funds have been allocated;

(2)  Business-specific training programs to create amore diversified job base and to carry out the purposes of the new industrytraining program pursuant to section 394-8;

(3)  Industry or employer-specific training programswhere there are critical skill shortages in high growth occupational orindustry areas;

(4)  Training and retraining programs to assistworkers who have become recently unemployed or likely to be unemployed;

(5)  Programs to assist residents who do not otherwisequalify for federal or state job training programs to overcome employmentbarriers; and

(6)  Training programs to provide job-specific skillsfor individuals in need of assistance to improve career employment prospects.

(c)  The director shall require employers whouse or who are assisted by any of these programs to contribute fifty per centof the cost of the assistance in cash or in-kind contributions.

(d)  The department may contract for employment,education, and training services from public and private agencies and nonprofitcorporations.  Contracts, pursuant to subsection (b), shall be exempt fromchapter 103F so funds for these services may be expended in a timely manner toeffectuate the purposes of this section.  All other disbursements shall be inaccordance with chapters 103D and 103F.

(e)  The department shall ensure the properadministration of the employment and training fund program by:

(1)  Standardizing contractual language and requirementsfor all grantees and vendors;

(2)  Expediting the program's macro grant applicationprocess by either eliminating the county advisory committees' review or byformalizing, defining, and including specific time frames related to thesecommittees;

(3)  Providing evidence that grant applications aretreated in accordance with fund policies by documenting the reasons foracceptance and denial of each proposed grant;

(4)  Improving the program's monitoring of fundsdisbursed by, at a minimum:

(A)  Establishing and implementing an organizedfiling system;

(B)  Requiring documentation of all contactmade with grant applicants and recipients; and

(C)  Ensuring that staff in all branch officesare familiar with the various reports and submittals required of the differentfund recipients;

(5)  Developing and disseminating the stateparticipant evaluation form to the program's vendors;

(6)  Developing and implementing strategies forevaluating the program's overall success that include but are limited to:

(A)  Assessing whether the program is improvingthe long-term employability of Hawaii's people;

(B)  Measuring program outcomes related to workunit and company performance; and

(C)  Collecting and comparing wage data fromworkers who have utilized the fund versus those who have not;

(7)  Increasing awareness of the fund and its programsby strengthening publicity;

(8)  Establishing consistent attendance-reportingrequirements for both macro grant projects and micro vendors and comparingattendance rates for projects and vendors who charge additional fees toparticipants versus those who do not; and

(9)  Reporting as encumbrances only those obligationsfor which the fund has entered into bona fide contracts.

(f)  For purposes of grants and subsidiesawarded under subsection (d), any organization requesting a grant or subsidyshall:

(1)  Be licensed and accredited, as applicable, underthe laws of the State;

(2)  Have at least one year's experience with theproject or in the program area for which the request or proposal is being made;except that the director may grant an exception where the project or programarea deals with new industry training; and

(3)  Be, employ, or have under contract persons whoare qualified to engage in the program or activity to be funded by the State.

(g)  Recipients of grants or subsidies shall besubject to the following conditions:

(1)  Any organization requesting a grant or subsidyshall submit its request together with all the information required by thedirector on an application form provided by the department;

(2)  The recipient of a grant or subsidy shall not usepublic funds for purposes of entertainment or perquisites;

(3)  The recipient of a grant or subsidy shall complywith applicable federal, state, and county laws;

(4)  The recipient of a grant or subsidy shall complywith any other requirements the director may prescribe;

(5)  The recipient of a grant or subsidy shall allowthe director, the legislative bodies, and the legislative auditor full accessto records, reports, files, and other related documents so that the program,management, and fiscal practices of the grant recipient may be monitored andevaluated to assure the proper and effective expenditure of public funds;

(6)  Every grant or subsidy shall be monitoredaccording to rules established by the director to ensure compliance with thissection; and

(7)  Any recipient of a grant or subsidy under thissection who withholds or omits any material fact or deliberately misrepresentsfacts to the director or who violates the terms of the recipient's contractshall be in violation of this section and, in addition to any other penaltiesprovided by law, shall be prohibited from applying for a grant or subsidy underthis section for a period of five years from the date of termination.

(h)  The director shall submit a report to thelegislature on the status of the employment and training fund, includingexpenditures and program results, at least twenty days prior to the conveningof each regular legislative session.

(i)  The director of finance shall act as thetreasurer and custodian of the employment and training fund, invest thosemoneys in accordance with applicable laws and rules, and disburse the moneys inthe employment and training fund in accordance with directions by the directorof labor and industrial relations; provided that if administrative encumbrancesare executed, then any portions thereof that are unexpended at the close ofeach fiscal year shall be lapsed into the employment and training fund.  All interestearned from investment of moneys in the employment and training fund shall bedeposited in the fund.  The director of finance shall be liable on thedirector's official bond for the faithful performance of all duties inconnection with the employment and training fund.  All sums recovered on thesurety bond for losses sustained by the employment and training fund shall bedeposited in the fund.

(j)  Administrative costs for the collection ofemployment and training fund contributions and for costs related to theestablishment and maintenance of the employment and training fund shall beborne by the fund beginning with fiscal year 1992-1993 and thereafter.

(k)  The director may establish positions andhire necessary personnel to establish and administer the employment andtraining fund in accordance with chapter 76. [L 1991, c 68, pt of §2; amL 1996, c 223, §3; am L 1997, c 190, §6; am L 1999, c 230, §1; am L 2000, c253, §150; am L 2002, c 248, §1; am L 2004, c 216, §41; am L 2006, c 300, §13]

 

Note

 

  Transfer of certain interest earnings to general fund untilJune 30, 2015.  L 2009, c 79, §30(a)(35).