Office of Workforce Development; authorize to implement and oversee an employee childcare tuition assistance program.

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To: Economic and Workforce
Development
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Boyd, Brumfield, Butler,
Frazier, Mumford

SENATE BILL NO. 2419

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-153-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO AUTHORIZE THE OFFICE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TO IMPLEMENT AND 2
OVERSEE AN EMPLOYEE CHILDCARE TUITION ASSISTANCE PARTNERSHIP 3
PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 37-153-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
37-153-7. (1) There is created the Mississippi Office of 8
Workforce Development and the Mississippi State Workforce 9
Investment Board, which shall serve as the advisory board for the 10
office. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall be 11
composed of thirty-one (31) voting members, of which a majority 12
shall be representatives of business and industry in accordance 13
with the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or any 14
successive acts. 15
(2) The members of the State Workforce Investment Board 16
shall include: 17
(a) The Governor, or his designee; 18
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(b) Nineteen (19) members, appointed by the Governor, 19
of whom: 20
(i) A majority shall be representatives of 21
businesses in the state, who: 22
1. Are owners of businesses, chief executives 23
or operating officers of businesses, or other business executives 24
or employers with optimum policymaking or hiring authority, and 25
who, in addition, may be members of a local board described in 26
Section 3122(b)(2)(A)(i) of the federal Workforce Innovation and 27
Opportunity Act. At least two (2) of the members appointed under 28
this item 1. shall be small business owners, chief executives or 29
operating officers of businesses with less than fifty (50) 30
employees; 31
2. Represent businesses, including small 32
businesses, or organizations representing businesses, which 33
provide employment opportunities that, at a minimum, include 34
high-quality, work-relevant training and development in 35
high-demand industry sectors or occupations in the state; and 36
3. Are appointed from among individuals 37
nominated by state business organizations and business trade 38
associations; 39
(ii) Not less than twenty percent (20%) shall 40
consist of representatives of the workforce within the state, 41
which: 42
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1. Includes labor organization 43
representatives who have been nominated by state labor 44
federations; 45
2. Includes a labor organization member or 46
training director from an apprenticeship program in the state, 47
which shall be a joint labor-management apprenticeship program if 48
such a program exists in the state; 49
3. May include representatives of 50
community-based organizations, including organizations serving 51
veterans or providing or supporting competitive, integrated 52
employment for individuals with disabilities, who have 53
demonstrated experience and expertise in addressing employment, 54
training or education needs of individuals with barriers to 55
employment; and 56
4. May include representatives of 57
organizations, including organizations serving out-of-school 58
youth, who have demonstrated experience or expertise in addressing 59
the employment, training or education needs of eligible youth; 60
(iii) The balance shall include government 61
representatives, including the lead state officials with primary 62
responsibility for core programs, and chief elected officials 63
(collectively representing both cities and counties, where 64
appropriate); 65
(c) Two (2) representatives of businesses in the state 66
appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; 67
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(d) Two (2) representatives of businesses in the state 68
appointed by the Governor from a list of three (3) recommendations 69
from the Speaker of the House; and 70
(e) The following state officials or their designees: 71
(i) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 72
Department of Employment Security; 73
(ii) The Executive Director of the Department of 74
Rehabilitation Services; 75
(iii) The State Superintendent of Public 76
Education; 77
(iv) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 78
Development Authority; 79
(v) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 80
Community College Board; 81
(vi) The President of the Community College 82
Association; and 83
(vii) The Commissioner of Higher Education. 84
(f) One (1) senator, appointed by the Lieutenant 85
Governor, and one (1) representative, appointed by the Speaker of 86
the House, shall serve on the state board in a nonvoting capacity. 87
(g) The Governor may appoint additional members if 88
required by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, 89
or any successive acts. 90
(h) Members of the board shall serve a term of four (4) 91
years, and shall not serve more than three (3) consecutive terms. 92
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(i) The membership of the board shall reflect the 93
diversity of the State of Mississippi. 94
(j) The Governor shall designate the Chairman of the 95
Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board from among the 96
business and industry voting members of the board, and a quorum of 97
the board shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the 98
board. 99
(k) The voting members of the board who are not state 100
employees shall be entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable 101
expenses in the manner and amount specified in Section 25-3-41 and 102
shall be entitled to receive per diem compensation as authorized 103
in Section 25-3-69. 104
(3) Members of the state board may be recalled by their 105
appointing authority for cause, including a felony conviction, 106
fraudulent or dishonest acts or gross abuse of discretion, failure 107
to meet board member qualifications, or chronic failure to attend 108
board meetings. 109
(4) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall 110
establish limits on administrative costs for each portion of 111
Mississippi's workforce development system consistent with the 112
federal Workforce Investment Act or any future federal workforce 113
legislation. 114
(5) The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall 115
have the following duties, which are intended to be consistent 116
with the scope of duties provided in the federal Workforce 117
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Innovation and Opportunity Act, amendments and successor 118
legislation to this act, and other relevant federal law: 119
(a) Through the office, develop and submit to the 120
Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House a strategic 121
plan for an integrated state workforce development system that 122
aligns resources and structures the system to more effectively and 123
efficiently meet the demands of Mississippi's employers and job 124
seekers. This plan will comply with the federal Workforce 125
Investment Act of 1998, as amended, the federal Workforce 126
Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and amendments and 127
successor legislation to these acts; 128
(b) Assist the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and 129
Speaker of the House in the development and continuous improvement 130
of the statewide workforce investment system that shall include: 131
(i) Development of linkages in order to assure 132
coordination and nonduplication among programs and activities; and 133
(ii) Review local workforce development plans that 134
reflect the use of funds from the federal Workforce Investment 135
Act, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Wagner-Peyser 136
Act and the amendment or successor legislation to the acts, and 137
the Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education 138
Consolidation Act; 139
(c) Recommend to the office the designation of local 140
workforce investment areas as required in Section 116 of the 141
federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Workforce 142
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Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. There shall be four (4) 143
workforce investment areas that are generally aligned with the 144
planning and development district structure in Mississippi. 145
Planning and development districts will serve as the fiscal agents 146
to manage Workforce Investment Act funds, oversee and support the 147
local workforce investment boards aligned with the area and the 148
local programs and activities as delivered by the one-stop 149
employment and training system. The planning and development 150
districts will perform this function through the provisions of the 151
county cooperative service districts created under Sections 152
19-3-101 through 19-3-115; however, planning and development 153
districts currently performing this function under the Interlocal 154
Cooperation Act of 1974, Sections 17-13-1 through 17-13-17, may 155
continue to do so; 156
(d) Assist the Governor in the development of an 157
allocation formula for the distribution of funds for adult 158
employment and training activities and youth activities to local 159
workforce investment areas; 160
(e) Recommend comprehensive, results-oriented measures 161
that shall be applied to all of Mississippi's workforce 162
development system programs; 163
(f) Assist the Governor in the establishment and 164
management of a one-stop employment and training system conforming 165
to the requirements of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 166
1998 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, as 167
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amended, recommending policy for implementing the Governor's 168
approved plan for employment and training activities and services 169
within the state. In developing this one-stop career operating 170
system, the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board, in 171
conjunction with local workforce investment boards, shall: 172
(i) Design broad guidelines for the delivery of 173
workforce development programs; 174
(ii) Identify all existing delivery agencies and 175
other resources; 176
(iii) Define appropriate roles of the various 177
agencies to include an analysis of service providers' strengths 178
and weaknesses; 179
(iv) Determine the best way to utilize the various 180
agencies to deliver services to recipients; and 181
(v) Develop a financial plan to support the 182
delivery system that shall, at a minimum, include an 183
accountability system; 184
(g) To provide authority, in accordance with any 185
executive order of the Governor, for developing the necessary 186
collaboration among state agencies at the highest level for 187
accomplishing the purposes of this article; 188
(h) To monitor the effectiveness of the workforce 189
development centers and WIN job centers; 190
(i) To advise the Governor, public schools, community 191
and junior colleges and institutions of higher learning on 192
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effective school-to-work transition policies and programs that 193
link students moving from high school to higher education and 194
students moving between community colleges and four-year 195
institutions in pursuit of academic and technical skills training; 196
(j) To work with industry to identify barriers that 197
inhibit the delivery of quality workforce education and the 198
responsiveness of educational institutions to the needs of 199
industry; 200
(k) To provide periodic assessments on effectiveness 201
and results of the overall Mississippi comprehensive workforce 202
development system and district councils; 203
(l) Develop broad statewide development goals, 204
including a goal to raise the state's labor force participation 205
rate; 206
(m) Perform a comprehensive review of Mississippi's 207
workforce development efforts, including the amount spent and 208
effectiveness of programs supported by state or federal money; and 209
(n) To assist the Governor in carrying out any other 210
responsibility required by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 211
1998, as amended and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, 212
successor legislation and amendments. 213
(6) The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall 214
coordinate all training programs and funds within its purview, 215
consistent with the federal Workforce Investment Act, Workforce 216
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Innovation and Opportunity Act, amendments and successor 217
legislation to these acts, and other relevant federal law. 218
Each state agency director responsible for workforce training 219
activities shall advise the Mississippi Office of Workforce 220
Development and the State Workforce Investment Board of 221
appropriate federal and state requirements. Each state agency, 222
department and institution shall report any monies received for 223
workforce training activities or career and technical education 224
and a detailed itemization of how those monies were spent to the 225
state board. The board shall compile the data and provide a 226
report of the monies and expenditures to the Chairs of the House 227
and Senate Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the House 228
Workforce Development Committee and the Chair of the Senate 229
Economic and Workforce Development Committee by October 1 of each 230
year. Each such state agency director shall remain responsible 231
for the actions of his agency; however, each state agency and 232
director shall work cooperatively to fulfill the state's goals. 233
(7) The State Workforce Investment Board shall establish an 234
executive committee, which shall consist of the following State 235
Workforce Investment Board members: 236
(a) The Chair of the State Workforce Investment Board; 237
(b) Two (2) business representatives currently serving 238
on the state board selected by the Governor; 239
(c) The two (2) business representatives currently 240
serving on the state board appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; 241
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(d) The two (2) business representatives currently 242
serving on the state board appointed by the Governor from a list 243
of three (3) recommendations from the Speaker of the House; 244
(e) The two (2) legislators, who shall serve in a 245
nonvoting capacity, one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the 246
Lieutenant Governor from the membership of the Mississippi Senate 247
and one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House 248
of Representatives from the membership of the Mississippi House of 249
Representatives. 250
(8) The executive committee shall select an executive 251
director of the Office of Workforce Development, with the advice 252
and consent of a majority of the State Workforce Investment Board. 253
The executive committee shall seek input from economic development 254
organizations across the state when selecting the executive 255
director. The executive director shall: 256
(a) Be a person with extensive experience in 257
development of economic, human and physical resources, and 258
promotion of industrial and commercial development. The executive 259
director shall have a bachelor's degree from a state-accredited 260
institution and no less than eight (8) years of professional 261
experience related to workforce or economic development; 262
(b) Perform the functions necessary for the daily 263
operation and administration of the office, with oversight from 264
the executive committee and the State Workforce Investment Board, 265
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to fulfill the duties of the state board as described in Chapter 266
476, Laws of 2020; 267
(c) Hire staff needed for the performance of his or her 268
duties under Chapter 476, Laws of 2020. The executive director, 269
with approval from the executive committee, shall set the 270
compensation of any hired employees from any funds made available 271
for that purpose; 272
(d) Enter any part of the Mississippi Community College 273
Board, individual community and junior colleges, or other 274
workforce training facilities operated by the state or its 275
subdivisions; 276
(e) Serve at the will and pleasure of the executive 277
committee; 278
(f) Promulgate rules and regulations, subject to 279
oversight by the executive committee, not inconsistent with this 280
article, as may be necessary to enforce the provisions in Chapter 281
476, Laws of 2020; and 282
(g) Perform any other actions he or she, in 283
consultation with the executive committee, deems necessary to 284
fulfill the duties under Chapter 476, Laws of 2020. 285
(9) The office shall file an annual and a quarterly report 286
with the Governor, Secretary of State, President of the Senate, 287
Speaker of the House, Chairman of the House Workforce Development 288
Committee and Chairman of the Senate Economic and Workforce 289
Development Committee. The annual report shall be filed not later 290
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than October 1 of each year regarding all funds approved by the 291
office to be expended on workforce training during the prior 292
calendar year. The quarterly and annual reports shall include: 293
(a) Information on the performance of the Mississippi 294
Workforce Enhancement Training Fund and the Mississippi Works 295
Fund, in terms of adding value to the local and state economy, the 296
contribution to future growth of the state economy, and movement 297
toward state goals, including increasing the labor force 298
participation rate; 299
(b) With respect to specific workforce training 300
projects: 301
(i) The location of the training; 302
(ii) The amount allocated to the project; 303
(iii) The purpose of the project; 304
(iv) The specific business entity that is the 305
beneficiary of the project; 306
(v) The number of employees intended to be trained 307
and actually trained, if applicable, in the course of the project; 308
and 309
(vi) The types of funds used for the project; 310
(c) With respect to the grants that have been awarded 311
under the Mississippi K-12 Workforce Development Grant Program 312
created in Section 37-153-221: 313
(i) The entity that was awarded the grant; 314
(ii) The amount allocated to the grant; 315
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(iii) The purpose of the grant; 316
(iv) How the grant has been used since it was 317
awarded; and 318
(d) With respect to the office's authority to select 319
tools and resources, including necessary online platforms and 320
similar systems in furtherance of the mission of the office: 321
(i) The policies that the office has adopted or 322
amended on the process for the selection of tools and resources, 323
including necessary online platforms and similar systems in 324
furtherance of the mission of the office; 325
(ii) The eligible entities that the office 326
determined may provide services, such as companies, nonprofit 327
organizations, or other similar groups; 328
(iii) Any tools and resources, including necessary 329
online platforms and similar systems in furtherance of the mission 330
of the office, that have been selected by the office; and 331
(iv) What entity received the benefit of the tools 332
and resources that were selected. 333
(e) All information concerning a proposed project which 334
is provided to the executive director shall be kept confidential. 335
Except as provided in subsections (13) and (14), such 336
confidentiality shall not limit disclosure under the Mississippi 337
Public Records Act of 1983 of records describing the nature, 338
quantity, cost or other pertinent information related to the 339
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activities of, or services performed using, the Mississippi 340
Workforce Enhancement Training Fund or the Mississippi Works Fund. 341
(10) In addition to other powers and duties provided in this 342
section, the Office of Workforce Development shall also have the 343
following powers and duties: 344
(a) Direct access to accounting and banking statements 345
for all funds under its direction to ensure accurate and efficient 346
management of funds and to improve internal control; 347
(b) The ability to enter into nondisclosure agreements 348
to effectively support economic development activities and the 349
proprietary nature of customized training for existing and new 350
industry; 351
(c) To adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations 352
as may be necessary or desirable for the purpose of implementing 353
the Mississippi K-12 Workforce Development Grant Program created 354
in Section 37-153-221; 355
(d) To receive contributions, donations, gifts, 356
bequests of money, other forms of financial assistance and 357
property, equipment, materials or manpower from persons, 358
foundations, trust funds, corporations, organizations and other 359
sources, public or private, made to the office, and may expend or 360
use the same in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the 361
donor, provided that no such condition is contrary to any 362
provision of law; 363
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(e) To contract with state agencies, governing 364
authorities or economic and workforce development entities for 365
shared programmatic efforts and support service or joint 366
employment of personnel in order to further the office's purposes; 367
(f) To determine, subject to appropriation, the need 368
for and, if desired, the selection of tools and resources, 369
including necessary online platforms and similar systems in 370
furtherance of the mission of the office, through processes 371
established in policies adopted by the office that are deemed to 372
be practical, feasible and in the public interest. These 373
processes shall outline eligible entities that may provide such 374
services, such as companies, nonprofit organizations, or other 375
similar groups and shall ensure the office determines metrics for 376
success, including deliverables as required by the office; 377
(g) To implement the career coaching program provided 378
for in Section 37-73-3; 379
(h) To provide career coaches with access to technology 380
to develop customized career pathways and connect students with 381
postsecondary and employment opportunities matching their skills 382
and interests; * * * 383
(i) To implement and oversee programs providing support 384
to community and junior colleges for training needs that may arise 385
when new businesses locate in Mississippi, to include providing 386
support to existing industries that may lose employees as a result 387
of the new business * * *; and 388
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(j) To implement and oversee an employee childcare 389
tuition assistance partnership program. 390
Through December 31, 2026, the provisions of Section 27-104-7 391
related to rental agreements or leasing of real property for the 392
purpose of conducting agency business shall not apply to the 393
office. 394
(11) Nothing in Chapter 476, Laws of 2020 [Senate Bill No. 395
2564] shall void or otherwise interrupt any contract, lease, grant 396
or other agreement previously entered into by the State Workforce 397
Investment Board, Mississippi Community College Board, individual 398
community or junior colleges, or other entities. 399
(12) Any records of the office which contain client 400
information from the Mississippi Development Authority or local 401
economic development entities concerning development projects 402
shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public 403
Records Act of 1983 for a period of two (2) years after receipt of 404
the information by the office. Confidential client information as 405
described in this section shall not include the information which 406
must be disclosed by the certified applicant related to a 407
qualified economic development project in the annual report 408
described in Section 57-1-759. 409
(13) Confidential client information in public records held 410
by the office shall be exempt from the provisions of the 411
Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 during any period of review 412
and negotiation on a project proposal facilitated by the 413
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ST: Office of Workforce Development; authorize
to implement and oversee an employee childcare
tuition assistance program.
Mississippi Development Authority or local economic development 414
entities and for a period of thirty (30) days after approval, 415
disapproval or abandonment of the proposal not to exceed one (1) 416
year. 417
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 418
and after July 1, 2026. 419