Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, and consistent with paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), in order for a State to receive an allotment under section 2852 or 2862 of this title, the Governor of the State shall designate local workforce investment areas within the State—
(i) through consultation with the State board; and
(ii) after consultation with chief elected officials and after consideration of comments received through the public comment process as described in section 2822(b)(9) of this title.
In making the designation of local areas, the Governor shall take into consideration the following:
(i) Geographic areas served by local educational agencies and intermediate educational agencies.
(ii) Geographic areas served by postsecondary educational institutions and area vocational education schools.
(iii) The extent to which such local areas are consistent with labor market areas.
(iv) The distance that individuals will need to travel to receive services provided in such local areas.
(v) The resources of such local areas that are available to effectively administer the activities carried out under this subchapter.
The Governor shall approve any request for designation as a local area—
(A) from any unit of general local government with a population of 500,000 or more;
(B) of the area served by a rural concentrated employment program grant recipient of demonstrated effectiveness that served as a service delivery area or substate area under the Job Training Partnership Act, if the grant recipient has submitted the request; and
(C) of an area that served as a service delivery area under section 101(a)(4)(A)(ii) of the Job Training Partnership Act (as in effect on the day before August 7, 1998) in a State that has a population of not more than 1,100,000 and a population density greater than 900 persons per square mile.
Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), the Governor shall approve any request, made not later than the date of submission of the initial State plan under this subchapter, for temporary designation as a local area from any unit of general local government (including a combination of such units) with a population of 200,000 or more that was a service delivery area under the Job Training Partnership Act on the day before August 7, 1998, if the Governor determines that the area—
(i) performed successfully, in each of the last 2 years prior to the request for which data are available, in the delivery of services to participants under part A of title II and title III of the Job Training Partnership Act (as in effect on such day); and
(ii) has sustained the fiscal integrity of the funds used by the area to carry out activities under such part and title.
A temporary designation under this paragraph shall be for a period of not more than 2 years, after which the designation shall be extended until the end of the period covered by the State plan if the Governor determines that, during the temporary designation period, the area substantially met (as defined by the State board) the local performance measures for the local area and sustained the fiscal integrity of the funds used by the area to carry out activities under this subchapter.
The Secretary shall provide the States with technical assistance in making the determinations required by this paragraph. The Secretary shall not issue regulations governing determinations to be made under this paragraph.
In this paragraph, the term "performed successfully" means that the area involved met or exceeded the performance standards for activities administered in the area that—
(i) are established by the Secretary for each year and modified by the adjustment methodology of the State (used to account for differences in economic conditions, participant characteristics, and combination of services provided from the combination assumed for purposes of the established standards of the Secretary); and
(ii)(I) if the area was designated as both a service delivery area and a substate area under the Job Training Partnership Act (as in effect on the day before August 7, 1998)—
(aa) relate to job retention and earnings, with respect to activities carried out under part A of title II of such Act (as in effect on such day); and
(bb) relate to entry into employment, with respect to activities carried out under title III of such Act (as in effect on such day);
(II) if the area was designated only as a service delivery area under such Act (as in effect on such day), relate to the standards described in subclause (I)(aa); or
(III) if the area was only designated as a substate area under such Act (as in effect on such day), relate to the standards described in subclause (I)(bb).
In this paragraph, the term "sustained the fiscal integrity", used with respect to funds used by a service delivery area or local area, means that the Secretary has not made a final determination during any of the last 3 years for which data are available, prior to the date of the designation request involved, that either the grant recipient or the administrative entity of the area misexpended the funds due to willful disregard of the requirements of the Act involved, gross negligence, or failure to observe accepted standards of administration.
The Governor may approve a request from any unit of general local government (including a combination of such units) for designation (including temporary designation) as a local area if the State board determines, taking into account the factors described in clauses (i) through (v) of paragraph (1)(B), and recommends to the Governor, that such area should be so designated.
A unit of general local government (including a combination of such units) or grant recipient that requests but is not granted designation of an area as a local area under paragraph (2) or (3) may submit an appeal to the State board under an appeal process established in the State plan. If the appeal does not result in such a designation, the Secretary, after receiving a request for review from the unit or grant recipient and on determining that the unit or grant recipient was not accorded procedural rights under the appeal process established in the State plan or that the area meets the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3), as appropriate, may require that the area be designated as a local area under such paragraph.
The Governor of any State that was a single State service delivery area under the Job Training Partnership Act as of July 1, 1998, may designate the State as a single State local area for the purposes of this chapter. In the case of such a designation, the Governor shall identify the State as a local area under section 2822(b)(5) of this title.
As part of the process for developing the State plan, a State may require regional planning by local boards for a designated region in the State. The State may require the local boards for a designated region to participate in a regional planning process that results in the establishment of regional performance measures for workforce investment activities authorized under this subchapter. The State may award regional incentive grants to the designated regions that meet or exceed the regional performance measures.
The State may require the local boards for a designated region to share, in feasible cases, employment statistics, information about employment opportunities and trends, and other types of information that would assist in improving the performance of all local areas in the designated region on local performance measures.
The State may require the local boards for a designated region to coordinate the provision of workforce investment activities authorized under this subchapter, including the provision of transportation and other supportive services, so that services provided through the activities may be provided across the boundaries of local areas within the designated region.
Two or more States that contain an interstate region that is a labor market area, economic development region, or other appropriate contiguous subarea of the States may designate the area as a designated region for purposes of this subsection, and jointly exercise the State functions described in paragraphs (1) through (3).
In this subsection:
The term "designated region" means a combination of local areas that are partly or completely in a single labor market area, economic development region, or other appropriate contiguous subarea of a State, that is designated by the State, except as provided in paragraph (4).
The term "local board for a designated region" means a local board for a local area in a designated region.
(Pub. L. 105–220, title I, §116, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 951; Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, §101(f) [title VIII, §401(3)], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–337, 2681–411.)
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Last modified: October 26, 2015