Executive Order  No. 413: Creating a Workforce Investment Board for the Commonwealth

WHEREAS, the sustained economic growth of the Commonwealth and the ability to remain competitive in a dynamic global economy will depend in large part on Massachusetts employers having access to a skilled and educated workforce, and on Massachusetts residents having the employment skills necessary to support themselves and their families: and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth must continue and strengthen its partnership with business to foster increased investment in education. the workforce, and youth; and

WHEREAS, achieving these goals requires that Massachusetts have a strategic plan for a Workforce Investment System in the Commonwealth that will be built on and guided by a set of principles resulting in a genuine partnership between the public and private sectors and between state and local stakeholders; and

WHEREAS, in August of 1998 President Clinton signed into law the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Public Law No. 105-220, in order to reform the nation's job training system by streamlining services through a One-Stop service delivery system, providing universal access to core services for youth and adults, empowering individuals through improved labor market information and access to training resources through individual training accounts, increasing accountability for results, ensuring a strong role for local boards and the private sector, and giving priority to youth programs; and

WHEREAS, the Workforce Investment Act provides the Commonwealth with an opportunity to develop a comprehensive Workforce Investment System that better prepares youth and adults to enter the workforce, and encourages employers to continue and expand their investment in their workforce; and

WHEREAS, the Workforce Investment Act requires the Commonwealth to establish a Workforce Investment Board composed of a diverse group of business, government, youth, and community leaders to help develop a strategic plan for the Workforce Investment System in Massachusetts;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Argeo Paul Cellucci, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Creation of Workforce Investment Board

There is hereby created a Workforce Investment Board, hereinafter known as the Board. The Board shall consist of the Governor; three members of the Senate, two appointed by the Senate President and one by the minority leader; three members of the House of Representatives, two appointed by the Speaker of the House and one by the minority leader; the Directors of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Economic Development; the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services; the Deputy Director of the Division of Employment and Training; the Commissioners of the Department of Transitional Assistance and the Department of Education; the Chancellor of the Board of Higher Education or another official appointed by the Governor representing education and training issues; the Deputy Director of Workforce Development; and the following additional members, all appointed by the Governor:

• Two mayors or chairs of boards of selectmen;
• Two persons with experience with respect to youth activities;
• Two persons with experience and expertise in the delivery of workforce investment activities, including one president of a community college;
• Eleven persons representing local government, public secondary and post-secondary education, and organizations representing or providing services to trainees, including at least three representatives of organized labor, two of whom shall be selected from among individuals nominated by state labor federations;  
• Thirty-three persons representing business and industry in the Commonwealth selected from among individuals nominated by state business associations and trade organizations, including at least three chairs of Regional Employment Boards; and
• Such other members as the Governor in his discretion may choose to appoint.

The members shall be appointed to represent diverse regions of the state, including urban, suburban, and rural areas. Members shall serve two-year terms at the pleasure of the Governor, and shall serve without compensation.

Section 2. Chair of the Board

The Chair of the Board shall be chosen by the Governor from among the members who are representatives of business and industry, and shall serve as Chair at the pleasure of the Governor.

Section 3. Board's Responsibilities

The Board shall adopt by-laws to govern its proceedings, and shall carry out the responsibilities required of it under the Workforce Investment Act, including but not limited to assisting the Governor in preparing the strategic plan for the development of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment System for Massachusetts residents and businesses pursuant to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The Board shall also carry out such additional responsibilities as the Governor may from time to time require.

Section 4. Board to be within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development

The administrative staff of the Board shall be supervised by and shall report to the Director of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The Board shall contract with said Department for personnel services and other operating needs.

Section 5. Other State Entities to Assist the Board

All state agencies, departments, boards, commissions, and other entities are hereby authorized and required to provide such information and support as the Board may from time to time require in the course of carrying out its responsibilities.

Section 6. Executive Order 364 Revoked

Effective July 1, 2000, Executive Order 364 is hereby revoked.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 30th day of July in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.

Argeo Paul Cellucci

Governor

William Francis Galvin

Secretary of the Commonwealth