A. The governor shall designate specified local workforce development areas based on population and geographic configuration and consistent with provisions of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 upon recommendation of the board and consideration of needs expressed by chief elected officials, business, labor and other interested parties.

B. The chief elected officials of each workforce development area shall establish a local board and appoint members based on the criteria established by the governor, the board and the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

C. Each local board shall:

(1) advise the board on issues relating to regional and local workforce development needs;

(2) develop and submit to the board and the office a local five-year workforce plan that shall be updated and revised annually in accordance with requirements of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998;

(3) designate or certify one-stop program operators in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998;

(4) terminate, for cause, the eligibility of one-stop operators;

(5) select and provide grants to youth activity providers in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998;

(6) identify eligible training and intensive service providers in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998;

(7) develop a budget subject to the approval of the chief elected official;

(8) develop and negotiate local performance measurements as described in the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 with the chief elected official and the office;

(9) assist in development of an employment statistics system;

(10) ensure linkages with economic development activities;

(11) encourage employer participation and assist employers in meeting hiring needs;

(12) in partnership with the chief elected official, conduct oversight of local programs of youth activities authorized pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and employment and training activities pursuant to that act, and the one-stop delivery system in the local area;

(13) if required by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, or if not required, at the local board's discretion, establish as a subgroup a youth council, appointed by the local board in cooperation with the chief elected official;

(14) prior to submission of the local plan, provide information regarding the following:

(a) the local plan;

(b) membership;

(c) designation and certification of one-stop operators; and

(d) the award of grants or contracts to eligible providers of youth activities;

(15) approve employment training programs directly linked to occupations in demand in the local area in order to provide for self-sufficiency;

(16) approve employment training programs linked to sectors of the economy or industry clusters that have a high potential for sustained demand or growth;

(17) annually review the performance of employment training programs for the purposes of renewing or canceling their certifications;

(18) report to the office and the board quarterly on the progress and overall effectiveness of one-stop operator performance as set forth in rules promulgated by the office; and

(19) report to the office and the board quarterly on the progress and effectiveness of the provision of services to employers, including a needs assessment for local business communities.

D. The local board shall be appointed in accordance with criteria established by the office with a minimum of fifty-one percent of its members coming from the private sector and shall include representation of education, labor, government, economic development and community-based organizations and others as appropriate and shall be appointed or ratified by the local chief public official.

E. Nothing in the Workforce Development Act shall be construed to provide a local board with the authority to mandate curricula for schools.

F. A member of the local board may not vote on a matter under consideration by the local board relating to provision of services by the member or by the entity the member represents, or that would provide direct financial benefit to the member or the member's immediate family, or engage in an activity determined by the governor to be a conflict of interest as provided in the state plan prepared pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

History: Laws 1999, ch. 260, § 5; 2005, ch. 111, § 7.

Repeals. — Section 50-14-16 NMSA 1978 provided for the delayed repeal of the Workforce Development Act, effective July 1, 2012. Laws 2007, ch. 200, § 24 repealed 50-14-16 NMSA 1978, effective July 1, 2007.

Cross references. — For the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, see 29 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq.

The 2005 amendment, effective April 4, 2005, provided in Subsection C(2) that the local boards shall develop and submit to the board and the office of workforce training and development, rather than to the governor, a local five-year workforce plan; provided in Subsection C(8) that the local board shall develop and negotiate local performance measures with the chief elected official and the office of workforce training and development, rather than to the governor; and provided in Subsection C(13) that if required by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 or if not required by the federal act, then in the local board's discretion, the local board may establish a youth council; added Subsections C(15) through (19) to require local boards to approve employment training programs that are linked to occupations in demand in the local area and to sectors of the economy or industry clusters that have a high potential for sustained demand or growth and to report to the office of workforce training and development and the board progress and effectiveness of one-stop operator performance and the provision of services to employers; and provided in Subsection D that local boards shall be appointed in accordance with criteria established by the office of workforce training and development, rather than to the governor.