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art.011/5/011/4/011/3/011/2/011/1

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     ARTICLE 11 AS AMENDED

RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

     SECTION 1. Section 28-42-84 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-42 entitled

"Employment Security - General Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     28-42-84. Job development fund -- Disbursements -- Unexpended balance.

     (a) The moneys in the job development fund shall be used for the following purposes:

     (1) To reimburse the department of labor and training for the loss of any federal funds

resulting from the collection and maintenance of the fund by the department;

     (2) To make refunds of contributions erroneously collected and deposited in the fund;

     (3) To pay any administrative expenses incurred by the department of labor and training

associated with the collection of the contributions for employers paid pursuant to § 28-43-8.5, and

any other administrative expenses associated with the maintenance of the fund, including the

payment of all premiums upon bonds required pursuant to § 28-42-85;

     (4) To provide for job training, counseling and assessment services, and other related

activities and services. Services will include, but are not limited to, research, development,

coordination, and training activities to promote workforce development and business development

as established by the governor's workforce board Rhode Island (workforce board);

     (5) To support the state's job training for economic development;

     (6) Beginning January 1, 2001, two hundredths of one percent (0.02%) out of the job

development assessment paid pursuant to § 28-43-8.5 shall be used to support necessary, core

services in the unemployment insurance and employment services programs operated by the

department of labor and training; and

     (7) Beginning January 1, 2011, and ending in tax year 2014, three tenths of one percent

(0.3%) out of the fifty-one hundredths of one percent (0.51%) job development assessment paid

pursuant to § 28-43-8.5 shall be deposited into a restricted receipt account to be used solely to pay

the principal and/or interest due on Title XII advances received from the federal government in

accordance with the provisions of Section 1201 of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. § 1321];

provided, however, that if the federal Title XII loans are repaid through a state revenue bond or

other financing mechanism, then these funds may also be used to pay the principal and/or interest

that accrues on that debt. Any remaining funds in the restricted receipt account, after the

outstanding principal and interest due has been paid, shall be transferred to the employment security

fund for the payment of benefits; and

     (8) Beginning January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2019, the amount of the job

development assessment paid pursuant to § 28-43.8-5 above nineteen hundredths of one percent

(0.19%) shall be used to support necessary, core services in the unemployment insurance and

employment services programs operated by the department of labor and training.

     (b) The general treasurer shall pay all vouchers duly drawn by the workforce board upon

the fund, in any amounts and in any manner that the workforce board may prescribe. Vouchers so

drawn upon the fund shall be referred to the controller within the department of administration.

Upon receipt of those vouchers, the controller shall immediately record and sign them and shall

promptly transfer those signed vouchers to the general treasurer. Those expenditures shall be used

solely for the purposes specified in this section and its balance shall not lapse at any time but shall

remain continuously available for expenditures consistent with this section. The general assembly

shall annually appropriate the funds contained in the fund for the use of the workforce board and,

in addition, for the use of the department of labor and training effective July 1, 2000, and for the

payment of the principal and interest due on federal Title XII loans beginning July 1, 2011;

provided, however, that if the federal Title XII loans are repaid through a state revenue bond or

other financing mechanism, then the funds may also be used to pay the principal and/or interest

that accrues on that debt.

     SECTION 2. Sections 28-43-1and 28-43-8.5 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-43 entitled

"Employment Security - Contributions" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     28-43-1. Definitions.

     The following words and phrases as used in this chapter have the following meanings,

unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

     (1) "Balancing account" means a book account to be established within the employment

security fund, the initial balance of which shall be established by the director as of September 30,

1979, by transferring the balance of the solvency account on that date to the balancing account.

     (2) "Computation date" means September 30 of each year.

     (3) "Eligible employer" means an employer who has had three (3) consecutive experience

years during each of which contributions have been credited to his account and benefits have been

chargeable to this account.

     (4) "Employer's account" means a separate account to be established within the

employment security fund by the director as of September 30, 1958, for each employer subject to

chapters 42 -- 44 of this title, out of the money remaining in that fund after the solvency account

has been established in the fund, by crediting to each employer an initial credit balance bearing the

same relation to the total fund balance so distributed, as his or her tax contributions to the fund

during the period beginning October 1, 1955, and ending on September 30, 1958, have to aggregate

tax contributions paid by all employers during the same period; provided, that nothing contained in

this section shall be construed to grant to any employer prior claim or rights to the amount

contributed by him or her to the fund.

     (5) "Experience rate" means the contribution rate assigned to an employer's account under

whichever is applicable of schedules A -- I in § 28-43-8.

     (6) "Experience year" means the period of twelve (12), consecutive calendar months ending

September 30 of each year.

     (7) "Most recent employer" means the last base-period employer from whom an individual

was separated from employment and for whom the individual worked for at least four (4) weeks,

and in each of those four (4) weeks had earnings of at least twenty (20) times the minimum hourly

wage as defined in chapter 12 of this title.

     (8) "Reserve percentage" means, in relation to an employer's account, the net balance of

that account on a computation date, including any voluntary contributions made in accordance with

§ 28-43-5.1, stated as a percentage of the employer's twelve-month (12) average taxable payroll for

the last thirty-six (36) months ended on the immediately preceding June 30.

     (9) "Reserve ratio of fund" means the ratio which the total amount available for the

payment of benefits in the employment security fund on September 30, 1979, or any computation

date thereafter, minus any outstanding federal loan balance, plus an amount equal to funds

transferred to the job development fund through the job development assessment adjustment for

the prior calendar year, bears to the aggregate of all total payrolls subject to this chapter paid during

the twelve-month (12) period ending on the immediately preceding June 30, or the twelve-month

(12) average of all total payrolls during the thirty-six-month (36) period ending on that June 30,

whichever percentage figure is smaller.

     (10) "Taxable payroll" means, for the purpose of this chapter, the total of all wages as

defined in § 28-42-3(29).

     (11) "Tax year" means the calendar year.

     (12) "Total payroll" means, for the purpose of this chapter, the total of all wages paid by

all employers who are required to pay contributions under the provisions of chapters 42 -- 44 of

this title.

     (13) "Unadjusted reserve ratio of fund" means the ratio which the total amount available

for the payment of benefits in the employment security fund on September 30, 1979, or any

computation date thereafter, minus any outstanding federal loan balance, bears to the aggregate of

all total payrolls subject to this chapter paid during the twelve-month (12) period ending on the

immediately preceding June 30, or the twelve-month (12) average of all total payrolls during the

thirty-six-month (36) period ending on that June 30, whichever percentage figure is smaller.

     (13)(14) "Voluntary contribution" means a contribution paid by an employer to his or her

account in accordance with § 28-43-5.1 to reduce the employer's experience rate for the ensuing

tax year.

     28-43-8.5. Job development assessment.

     (a) For the tax years 2011 through 2014, each employer subject to this chapter shall be

required to pay a job development assessment of fifty-one hundredths of one percent (0.51%) of

that employer's taxable payroll, in addition to any other payment which that employer is required

to make under any other provision of this chapter; provided, that the assessment shall not be

considered as part of the individual employer's contribution rate for the purpose of determining the

individual employer's balancing charge pursuant to § 28-43-9; provided, further, upon full

repayment of any outstanding principal and/or interest due on Title XII advances received from the

federal government in accordance with the provisions of section 1201 of the Social Security Act

[42 U.S.C. § 1321], including any principal and/or interest that accrues on debt from a state revenue

bond or other financing mechanism used to repay the Title XII advances, then the job development

assessment shall be reduced to twenty-one hundredths of one percent (0.21%) beginning the tax

quarter after the full repayment occurs. The tax rate for all employers subject to the contribution

provisions of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title shall be reduced by twenty-one hundredths of one percent

(0.21%). For tax year 2015 and subsequent years, except tax year 2019, each employer subject to

this chapter shall be required to pay a job development assessment of twenty-one hundredths of

one percent (0.21%) of that employer's taxable payroll, in addition to any other payment which that

employer is required to make under any other provision of this chapter; provided, that the

assessment shall not be considered as part of the individual employer's contribution rate for the

purpose of determining the individual employer's balancing charge pursuant to § 28-43-9. The tax

rate for all employers subject to contribution provisions of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title shall be

reduced by twenty-one hundredths of one percent (0.21%). For tax year 2019, each employer

subject to this chapter shall be required to pay a base job development assessment of twenty-one

hundredths of one percent (0.21%) of that employer's taxable payroll, plus a job development

assessment adjustment as computed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, in addition to any

other payment which that employer is required to make under any other provision of this chapter;

provided, that:

     (1) the assessment shall not be considered as part of the individual employer's contribution

rate for the purpose of determining the individual employer's balancing charge pursuant to § 28-

43-9; and

     (2) A job development adjustment shall be computed only if tax schedule A through H is

scheduled to be in effect for the ensuing calendar year; and

     (3) The employment security fund earned interest in the prior calendar year.

     (b) On September 30, 2018, the job development assessment adjustment shall be computed

to determine the job development assessment that will be in effect during the ensuing calendar year.

The adjustment shall be computed by dividing the interest earned by the employment security fund

in the prior calendar year by one hundred ten percent (110%) of the taxable wages in the prior

calendar year. The result shall be rounded down to the nearest one hundredth of a percent (0.01%).

     (1) In no event may the revenues made available to the job development fund by the job

development assessment adjustment exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the interest earned by

the employment security fund in the prior calendar year. All revenues collected after seventy-five

percent (75%) of the employment security fund's prior year interest has been deposited into the job

development fund shall be deposited into the employment security fund forthwith.

     (c) The tax rate for all employers subject to contribution provisions of chapter 42 through

44 of this title shall be reduced by the total combined job development assessment and adjustment

as determined under subsection (b) of this section.

     (d) In no event may the job development assessment adjustment negatively impact

contributing employers by either preventing the tax schedule to be in effect for the ensuing calendar

year from dropping from a higher schedule or causing the tax schedule to be in effect for the ensuing

calendar year to be raised to a higher schedule.

     (1) If the tax schedule, as determined by the reserve ratio of the employment security fund

on September 30, 2018, would be different than the tax schedule determined if the unadjusted

reserve ratio of the fund were used to determine the tax schedule for the ensuing calendar year, the

department shall do one of the following to ensure that tax schedule to be in effect for the ensuing

calendar year is unaffected by the job development assessment adjustment:

     (i) Make any necessary transfers from available job development fund resources to the

employment security trust fund to establish a reserve ratio that would represent the ratio that would

have been in effect should the job development assessment adjustment not have been performed in

the prior year; or

     (ii) Perform no job development assessment adjustment in the ensuing calendar year.

     SECTION 3. Chapter 42-64.6 of the General Laws entitled “Jobs Training Tax Credit Act”

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 

     42-64.6-9. Sunset.

     No credits authorized under this chapter shall be awarded for tax years beginning on or

after January 1, 2018.

     SECTION 4. Section 42-102-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-102 entitled

“Governor’s Workforce Board Rhode Island” is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-102-11. State Work Immersion Program. 

     (a)(1) The workforce board (“board”) shall develop a state work immersion program and a

non-trade, apprenticeship program. For the purposes of this section work immersion shall mean a

temporary, paid, work experience that provides a meaningful learning opportunity and increases

the employability of the participant. The programs shall be designed in order to provide post-

secondary school students, recent college graduates, and unemployed adults Rhode Island residents

and/or students attending secondary schools, post-secondary schools or training programs with a

meaningful work experience, and to assist employers by training individuals for potential

employment.

      (2) Funding for the work immersion program will be allocated from the job development

fund account and/or from funds appropriated in the annual appropriations act. Appropriated funds

will match investments made by employers in providing meaningful work immersion positions and

non-trade apprenticeships.

      (b) For each participant in the work immersion program, the program shall reimburse

     eligible employers up to fifty percent (50%) of the cost of not more than four hundred (400)

hours of work experience and during a period of ten (10) weeks. If an eligible employer hires a

program participant at the completion of such a program, the state may provide reimbursement for

a total of seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost of the work immersion position. Employers

participating in the work immersion program may be eligible to receive a reimbursement of up to

seventy-five percent (75%) of the approved program participant’s wages paid during their work

experience.

      (c) The board shall create a non-trade apprenticeship program and annually award funding

on a competitive basis to at least one (1) new initiative proposed and operated by the Governor's

Workforce Board Industry Partnerships. This program shall meet the standards of apprenticeship

programs defined pursuant to § 28-45-9 of the general laws. The board shall present the program

to the state apprenticeship council, established pursuant to chapter 28-45 of the general laws, for

review and consideration.

      (d) An eligible participant in programs established in subsections (b) and (c) must be at

least eighteen (18) years of age and must be a Rhode Island resident. Provided, however, any non-

Rhode Island resident, who is enrolled in a college or university, located in Rhode Island, is eligible

to participate while enrolled at the college or university.

      (e) In order to fully implement the provisions of this section, the board is authorized to

promulgate rules and regulations. The rules and regulations shall define eligible employers that can

participate in the programs created by this section.

     SECTION 5. This Article shall take effect upon passage.