The panel shall do all of the following:

(a) Establish a three-year plan that shall be updated annually, based on the demand of employers for trained workers, changes in the state’s economy and labor markets, and continuous reviews of the effectiveness of panel training contracts. The updated plan shall be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature not later than January 1 of each year. In carrying out this section, the panel shall review information in the following areas:

(1) Labor market information, including the state-local labor market information program in the Employment Development Department and other relevant regional or statewide initiatives and collaboratives.

(2) Evaluations of the effectiveness of training as measured by increased security of employment for workers and benefits to the California economy.

(3) The demand for training by industry, type of training, and size of employer.

(4) Changes in skills necessary to perform jobs, including changes in basic literacy skills.

(5) Changes in the demographics of the labor force and the population entering the labor market.

(6) Proposed expenditures by other agencies of federal Workforce Investment Act funds and other state and federal training and vocational education funds on eligible participants.

(b) Maintain a system to continuously monitor economic and other data required under this plan. If this data changes significantly during the life of the plan, the plan shall be amended by the panel. Each plan shall include all of the following:

(1) The panel’s objectives with respect to the criteria and priorities specified in Section 10200 and the distribution of funds between new-hire training and retraining.

(2) The identification of specific industries, production and quality control techniques, and regions of the state where employment training funds would most benefit the state’s economy and plans to encourage training in these areas, including specific standards and a system for expedited review of proposals that meet the standards.

(3) A system for expedited review of proposals that are substantially similar with respect to employer needs, training curriculum, duration of training, and costs of training, in order to encourage the development of proposals that meet the needs identified in paragraph (2).

(4) The panel’s goals, operational objectives, and strategies to meet the needs of small businesses, including, but not limited to, those small businesses with 100 or fewer employees. These strategies proposed by the panel may include, but not be limited to, pilot demonstration projects designed to identify potential barriers that small businesses may experience in accessing panel programs and workforce training resources, including barriers that may exist within small businesses.

(5) The research objectives of the panel that contribute to the effectiveness of this chapter in benefiting the economy of the state as a whole.

(6) A priority list of skills or occupations that are in such short supply that employers are choosing to not locate or expand their businesses in the state or are importing labor in response to these skills shortages.

(7) A review of the panel’s efforts to coordinate with the California Workforce Investment Board and local boards to achieve an effective and coordinated approach in the delivery of the state’s workforce resources.

(A) The panel will consider specific strategies to achieve this goal that include the development of initiatives to engage local workforce investment boards in enhancing the utilization of panel training resources by companies in priority sectors, special populations, and in geographically underserved areas of the state.

(B) Various approaches to foster greater program integration between workforce investment boards and the panel will also be considered, which may include marketing agreements, expanded technical assistance, modification of program regulations and policy, and expanded use of multiple employer contracts.

(c) Solicit proposals and write contracts on the basis of proposals made directly to it. Contracts for the purpose of providing employment training may be written with any of the following:

(1) An employer or group of employers.

(2) A training agency.

(3) A local workforce investment board with the approval of the appropriate local elected officials in the local workforce investment area.

(4) A grant recipient or administrative entity selected pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, with the approval of the local workforce investment board and the appropriate local elected officials.

These contracts shall be in the form of fixed-fee performance contracts. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, contracts entered into pursuant to this chapter shall not be subject to competitive bidding procedures. Contracts for training may be written for a period not to exceed 24 months for the purpose of administration by the panel and the contracting employer or any group of employers acting jointly or any training agency for the purpose of providing employment training.

(d) Fund training projects that best meet the priorities identified annually. In doing so, the panel shall seek to facilitate the employment of the maximum number of eligible participants.

(e) Establish minimum standards for the consideration of proposals, which shall include, but not be limited to, evidence of labor market demand, the number of jobs available, the skill requirements for the identified jobs, the projected cost per person trained, hired, and retained in employment, the wages paid successful trainees upon placement, and the curriculum for the training. No proposal shall be considered or approved that proposes training for employment covered by a collective bargaining agreement unless the signatory labor organization agrees in writing.

(f) Ensure the provision of adequate fiscal and accounting controls for, monitoring and auditing of, and other appropriate technical and administrative assistance to, projects funded by this chapter.

(g) Provide for evaluation of projects funded by this chapter. The evaluations shall assess the effectiveness of training previously funded by the panel to improve job security and stability for workers, and benefit participating employers and the state’s economy, and shall compare the wages of trainees in the 12-month period prior to training as well as the 12-month period subsequent to completion of training, as reflected in the department’s unemployment insurance tax records. Individual project evaluations shall contain a summary description of the project, the number of persons entering training, the number of persons completing training, the number of persons employed at the end of the project, the number of persons still employed three months after the end of the project, the wages paid, the total costs of the project, and the total reimbursement received from the Employment Training Fund.

(h) Report annually to the Legislature, by November 30, on projects operating during the previous state fiscal year. These annual reports shall provide separate summaries of all of the following:

(1) Projects completed during the year, including their individual and aggregate performance and cost.

(2) Projects not completed during the year, briefly describing each project and identifying approved contract amounts by contract and for this category as a whole, and identifying any projects in which funds are expected to be disencumbered.

(3) Projects terminated prior to completion and the reasons for the termination.

(4) A description of the amount, type, and effectiveness of literacy training funded by the panel.

(5) Results of complete project evaluations.

(6) A description of pilot projects, and the strategies that were identified through these projects, to increase access by small businesses to panel training contracts.

(7) A listing of training projects that were funded in high unemployment areas and a detailed description of the policies and procedures that were used to designate geographic regions and municipalities as high unemployment areas.

In addition, based upon its experience in administering job training projects, the panel shall include in these reports policy recommendations concerning the impact of job training and the panel’s program on economic development, labor-management relations, employment security, and other related issues.

(i) Conduct ongoing reviews of panel policies with the goal of developing an improved process for developing, funding, and implementing panel contracts as described in this chapter.

(j) Expedite the processing of contracts for firms considering locating or expanding businesses in the state, in accordance with the priorities for employment training programs set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 10200.

(k) Coordinate and consult regularly with business groups and labor organizations, the California Workforce Investment Board, the State Department of Education, the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and the Employment Development Department.

(l) Adopt by regulation procedures for the conduct of panel business, including the scheduling and conduct of meetings, the review of proposals, the disclosure of contacts between panel members and parties at interest concerning particular proposals, contracts or cases before the panel or its staff, the awarding of contracts, the administration of contracts, and the payment of amounts due to contractors. All decisions by the panel shall be made by resolution of the panel and any adverse decision shall include a statement of the reason for the decision.

(m) Adopt regulations and procedures providing reasonable confidentiality for the proprietary information of employers seeking training funds from the panel if the public disclosure of that information would result in an unfair competitive disadvantage to the employer supplying the information. The panel may not withhold information from the public regarding its operations, procedures, and decisions that would otherwise be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(n) Review and comment on the budget and performance of any program, project, or activity funded by the panel utilizing funds collected pursuant to Section 976.6.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 31, Sec. 16. (AB 119) Effective June 29, 2011. Operative January 1, 2012, by Sec. 20 of Ch. 31.)