CA SB 75

Title: Employment: Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program.
Author: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas

Summary
SB 75, as amended, Smallwood-Cuevas. Employment: Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program. Existing law provides for various employment programs to assist formerly incarcerated individuals in finding and retaining employment, including the Pre-Release Construction Trades Certificate Program administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Prison to Employment Program administered by the California Workforce Development Board.Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce.This bill would, subject to an appropriation and until January 1, 2030, require the board to establish a Reentry Pilot Project in the Counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, and San Diego to provide workforce training and transitional support to formerly incarcerated individuals committed to careers in the skilled trades. The bill would require the board to designate a qualified nonprofit organization in each pilot county for specified duties, including the management and monitoring of funds. The bill would require a qualified nonprofit organization to provide certain stipends to eligible participants, including a transportation stipend to ensure accessibility to training and employment sites. The bill would require apprenticeship training that is affiliated with a union to be defrayed by underwriting 25% of the total cost per participant. The bill would require the board to evaluate the program based on specified outcomes and submit a report to the Legislature, no later than 6 months following the conclusion of the pilot project, assessing the pilot project’s effectiveness and feasibility for statewide expansion.This bill would, by January 1, 2028, require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in partnership with the Department of Industrial Relations, to establish the Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program. The bill would, until January 1, 2032, provide incarcerated individuals access to preapprenticeship training in the skilled construction and building trades. The bill would require the program to provide, among other things, instruction based on the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum and content coordinated with joint apprenticeship training committees. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement the program at one men’s facility and one women’s facility. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, beginning January 1, 2029, to annually report certain data regarding participation in the program to the Legislature.

Status
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

Bill Documents
CA SB 75 - 06/17/25 - Amended Assembly
06/17/25 - CA SB 75 (06/17/25 - Amended Assembly)