Apprentice Utilization In Public Projects

The bill requires the contractor for any public project that does not receive any federal money to use apprentices registered with an apprenticeship program for at least 25% of the workforce in an apprenticeable occupation that is hired to work on the public project (apprenticeship requirements). The apprenticeship program must be registered with the United States department of labor, office of apprenticeship. For purposes of the bill, a public project is a project under the supervision of any state agency, including the department of transportation, that is likely to cost $500,000 or more in any fiscal year.

A government agency may consider a bid or proposal for a public project that does not receive any federal money only if the bid or proposal indicates that at least 25% of the project workforce that is in an apprenticeable occupation and that is hired by the contractor to work on the public project will be apprentices registered with an apprenticeship program.

Upon completion of a public project, the contractor is required to submit an affidavit to the government agency stating that the contractor has either complied with the apprenticeship requirements or has made a good faith effort to comply. If the contractor complied with the apprenticeship requirements, the affidavit must include the names of the registered apprentices, identify the specific apprenticeship programs with which the apprentices are registered, and specify the total number of people in the workforce for the public project who are in apprenticeable occupations. If the contractor did not comply with the apprenticeship requirements, the affidavit must include documentation of the contractor's good faith effort to comply. If the contractor fails to submit the affidavit or if the state agency finds that the affidavit does not reflect the contractor's compliance or good faith effort to comply with the apprenticeship requirements, the agency may retain any unallocated portion of the amount of the contract price that the agency is authorized to withhold until the contract is completed as liquidated damages.

The bill specifies that the apprenticeship requirements do not supersede existing statutory requirements for licensed apprenticeable occupations.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)