Establishes Water Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Resources (WATER) Pilot Program in DOLWD; appropriates $1 million.

A1769

ASSEMBLY, No. 1769

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Murphy, Reynolds-Jackson, Quijano,
Assemblymen Karabinchak, Tully, Assemblywomen Swain and Lopez

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Water Apprenticeship, Training, and
Employment Resources (WATER) Pilot Program in DOLWD; appropriates $1 million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

establishing a Water Apprenticeship, Training,
and
Employment
Resources (�WATER�)
Pilot Program,

supplementing
Title 34 of the Revised Statutes
, and making
an appropriation.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

�����
1.�� a.�
As used in this section:

���� �Department� means the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

���� �Eligible applicant� means a
business, labor organization, college or university, workforce training
provider, non-profit organization, public utility, local government entity or
authority, trade organization, or other entity that offers or plans to offer a
water-related apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the United
States Department of Labor, and that has partnered with an industry to offer or
fund that apprenticeship program.

���� �Program participant� or
�participant� means a person who participates in an apprenticeship program
operating pursuant to the WATER Pilot Program.

���� �WATER Pilot Program� or
�program� means the Water Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Resources
Pilot Program established pursuant to this act.

���� b.��� There is established in
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development a five-year Water
Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Resources (�WATER�) Pilot Program,
which shall provide grants to support funding for adult apprenticeship programs
in water infrastructure, water utilities, and other water-related sectors,
including, but not limited to, those sectors employing wastewater workers, and
those sectors focusing on underserved and underrepresented communities.� A
grant may extend beyond one year in duration.� To be eligible for a grant, the relevant
apprenticeship program shall be accredited and approved by the United States
Department of Labor, or shall be in the process of obtaining that
accreditation.� The WATER Pilot Program shall be administered by the Office of
Apprenticeship in the department. The program shall coordinate with the Center
for Workforce Innovation in Construction established by the New Jersey
Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development as part of
the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative.

���� c.���� To apply for a WATER
Pilot Program grant, an organization shall submit an application to the Office
of Apprenticeship, which shall include documentation demonstrating that the
apprenticeship program the organization is sponsoring either is or will be
accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor.� Any
organizational sponsor of an apprenticeship program, including, but not limited
to, a business, labor organization, college or university, workforce training
provider, non-profit organization, public utility, local government

entity
or authority, or trade organization, shall be eligible to receive a WATER Pilot
Program grant.

���� d.� No later than six months
after the effective date of this act, the department shall begin accepting
grant applications from eligible applicants for the WATER Pilot Program, and
initial grant awards shall be approved and awarded no later than one year after
the effective date of this act, using funds allocated to the program.� The
department shall rank eligible applicants based upon its consideration of:

���� (1)�� each applicant�s
potential to:

���� (a)�� reach a broad audience
through its recruitment and outreach efforts;

���� (b)�� significantly increase
enrollment in, and completion of, the apprenticeship program by program
participants, including by members of underserved and underrepresented
communities; and

���� (c)�� fill existing needs for
skilled workers in the market; and

���� (2)�� the applicant�s
partnership with an industry for which apprenticeship programs targeted at
training and providing skilled workers who have the ability to perform jobs in
that industry have demonstrated positive outcomes.

���� e.� (1)� An eligible applicant
shall be required to demonstrate that� the applicant intends and is prepared to
contribute the applicant�s own financial resources to the apprenticeship
program and has secured an industry partner or a monetary or in-kind
contribution, including conditional job placement guarantees, from an industry
partner.� Moreover, each eligible applicant shall provide documentation of:

���� �(a)� the apprenticeship
program�s curriculum, location, and skills to be taught;

���� �(b)� the recruitment efforts
that will be used to promote and facilitate enrollment in the apprenticeship
program, and projected enrollment rates, both with and without receipt of grant
funds;

���� �(c) �a description of how the
grant funds will be utilized;

���� �(d)� information on specific
industry needs or gaps in the workforce that will be addressed by the
apprenticeship program;

���� �(e)� costs to operate the
apprenticeship program; and

���� �(f)� any other information
the department requires.

���� (2)� An eligible applicant who
receives a grant pursuant to this section shall:
�

���� (a) partner with schools,
utilities, water purveyors, and other water employers to effectively market available
apprenticeship opportunities;

���� (b) strengthen local hiring
preferences in support of more minority and women business enterprises and

���� (c) hold an annual water
summit where prospective workers, employers, and community partners can
connect.

���� f.� An eligible applicant who
is selected by the department to receive a grant for the purpose of funding an
apprenticeship program in accordance with this act, shall, on an annual basis
for so long as the grant is provided, submit a written report, to the
commissioner, identifying the number of participants enrolled in the program,
the number of participants who have completed the program, the number of
participants who have obtained employment as a result of the program, and any
other information the commissioner may require.

���� g.� One year after the
effective date of this act, and each year thereafter for the duration of the WATER
Pilot Program, the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall submit
to the Governor, and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991,
c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a report that evaluates the results of the program and
its effectiveness both in preparing individuals to meet existing and burgeoning
workforce needs and in addressing skills gaps in the workforce.� Each report
shall:

���� (1)� include a recommendation
regarding whether to renew the WATER Pilot Program, and, if renewal is
recommended, an indication as to whether the program should be expanded or
otherwise enhanced;

���� (2) identify the number of
grants awarded in the prior year, including the amount, recipient, and duration
of each grant;

���� (3) identify the number of
individuals who enrolled in and completed an apprenticeship program offered by
each grant recipient;

���� (4) identify the number of
individuals who obtained employment in a position that uses the skills for
which they were trained by the grant recipient, or in a position for which the
completion of the apprenticeship program was a condition of employment; and

���� (5) include all relevant
information provided by grant recipients regarding the measurable outcomes of program
participants.

���� h. Grant funds awarded pursuant
to this act shall not be used, by a grant recipient, for any activities that:

���� (1)�� replace, supplant,
compete with, or duplicate, in any way,

any existing and approved
apprenticeship program;

���� (2)�� induce, encourage, or
assist:� (a) any displacement of currently employed workers by program
participants, including partial displacement such as when currently employed
workers are subject to a reduction in the number of their working hours; (b)
any replacement of laid-off workers by program participants; or (c) the
relocation of workplace operations in a manner that results in a loss of
employment at a previously existing workplace; or

���� (3)�� impair existing
contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements, except that
activities that would be inconsistent with the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement may be undertaken with the written concurrence of the collective
bargaining unit and the employer or employers who are parties to the agreement.

���� 2.��� There is established in
the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the
WATER Fund. �The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated by the
Legislature for inclusion in the fund, investment earnings of the fund, and
moneys contributed to the fund by private sources, to be used for the purposes
of this act. The moneys in the fund shall be invested and reinvested by the
Department of the Treasury. �The Department of Labor and Workforce Development
shall solicit grants and donations to the fund from interested public or
private sources.

���� 3.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the WATER Fund established pursuant to section 2 of
this act the sum of $1,000,000 to effectuate the purposes of this act.

���� 4.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

����� This bill would create a five-year Water
Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Resources (�WATER�) Pilot Program in
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) to provide grants to
support funding for newly-established adult apprenticeship programs in the
water infrastructure, water utilities, and other water-related sectors,
focusing on underserved and underrepresented communities.� Any organizational
sponsor of an apprenticeship program, including a business, labor organization,
college or university, workforce training provider, non-profit organization,
public utility, local government entity or authority, or trade organization,
would be eligible to receive a grant, provided that they have secured an
industry partner or a monetary or in-kind funding contribution.

����� Under the bill, the program is required to coordinate
with the Center for Workforce Innovation in Construction established by the New
Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development as
part of the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative.

����� The DOLWD will be required to begin accepting grant
applications not more than six months after the effective date of this bill,
and initial grant awards are to be issued no later than one year after the
bill�s effective date.� The DOLWD would be required to rank eligible applicants
for grants based upon each applicant�s potential to:� (1) reach a broad
audience through its recruitment and outreach efforts; (2) significantly
increase enrollment in, and the completion of, the apprenticeship program, including
among members of underserved and underrepresented communities; and (3) fill
existing needs for skilled workers in the market.

����� One year after the bill�s effective date, and each
year thereafter for the duration of the pilot grant program, the Commissioner
of Labor and Workforce Development would be required to submit to the Governor
and the Legislature a report that evaluates the results of the WATER Pilot
Program and its effectiveness.

����� The bill would create a special, non-lapsing fund in
the Department of the Treasury, which would be known as the "WATER
Fund," and which would be used to collect and invest moneys for the
purposes of the bill.� The bill would also direct the Department of the
Treasury to solicit grants and donations to the fund from interested public or
private sources. The bill appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to the
WATER Fund to effectuate the purposes of this bill.�