1. There
is hereby established in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury,
the Construction Trade Training Council ("Council").
2. The Council
shall consist of eleven (11) members as follows:
(a) The
State Treasurer, the Commissioner of Labor, the Commissioner
of Education, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General,
or their designees, shall serve as ex-officio members of the
Council.
(b) The
Governor shall appoint the following members: two (2) members
representing Construction Trade Unions; two (2) members representing
Public/Private Training Schools certified by the Department
of Education; and two (2) members who are Construction Contractors,
at least one of which is a minority or female business as defined
in N.J.S.A. 52:32-19.
(c) The
term of office of each public member shall be three years, except
for the initial appointments which shall be made as follows:
one representative from the Construction Trade Unions, one representative
from the Public/Private Training Schools, and one Construction
Contractor shall each be appointed for a two-year term, and
the other representatives shall be appointed for a three-year
term. The public members shall serve at the pleasure of the
Governor. A vacancy occurring among any of the public members,
other than by expiration of term, shall be filled for the balance
of the unexpired term only and in the same manner as the original
appointment. A member may serve until a successor is appointed.
(d) The
public members of the Council shall serve without compensation
but shall, subject to State appropriation, be entitled to reimbursement
for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties.
3. The Council
shall be co-chaired by the State Treasurer and the Commissioner
of Labor and a vice-chair shall be elected by the Council from
among its public members. A secretary, who need not be a member
of the Council, shall be selected by the Council.
4. The Council
shall organize and meet as soon as practicable after the appointment
of a majority of its members.
5. The Council
shall:
(a) Serve
as an advisory body to the Governor on the development of recommendations
for the creation and implementation of pilot or other programs
designed to provide quality training to members of underrepresented
groups for careers in construction;
(b) Oversee
the coordination of publicly sponsored construction training
programs to ensure consistency and uniformity in the implementation
of such programs;
(c) Review
all publicly sponsored construction training programs to determine
the availability of support services for its participants such
as childcare and transportation and, where none exist, encourage
the development of such services in cooperation with the various
State departments;
(d) Determine
the feasibility of implementing similar job training/placement
programs in industries other than construction trades; and
(e) Recommend
to the Governor regulatory and legislative proposals that support
the expansion and continuance of any training program.
6. The Council
is authorized to call upon any department, office or agency of
State government to provide such information, resources or other
assistance deemed necessary to discharge its responsibilities
under this Order. Each department, officer, division and agency
of this State is hereby required to cooperate with the Council
and to furnish it with such information, personnel and assistance
as is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Order.
7. There
is hereby established in the New Jersey Commerce and Economic
Growth Commission, the Business Opportunity Center ("Center")
to function as a one-stop shop, business access center for New
Jersey emerging small businesses.
8. The Center
shall:
(a) Provide
emerging small business enterprises with procurement information,
technical bidding assistance, marketing services, business mentoring,
and access to financing and management consultation;
(b) Implement
an Emerging Small Business Pilot Program that is targeted at
creating new business opportunities for construction and engineering
small businesses;
(c) In
conjunction with the Office of Small Business in the New Jersey
Commerce and Economic Growth Commission,
(i)
Revamp the State's Selected Assistance Vendor Information
AVI) System to ensure that it functions as a comprehensive
and universal listing of all certified small businesses for
usage by all State departments;
(ii)
Revise the State's small business certification process to
make it user friendly and to enable online certification;
and
(iii)
Institute procurement reporting procedures to include actual
payments received by small business contractors.
9. The New
Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission shall, pursuant
to the "Administrative Procedure Act," promulgate such regulations
as are necessary to accomplish the functions and goals of the
Center.
10. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal,
this 30th day of January, in the year
of our Lord Two Thousand and One,
and of the Independence of the United
States, Two Hundred Twenty-Five.
/s/
Christine Todd Whitman
Governor
[seal]