HOUSE BILL NO. 925 Offered January 9, 2008 Prefiled January 8, 2008 A BILL to amend and reenact § 60.2-113 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Employment Commission; employment stabilization. ---------- Patrons-- Byron and Dance ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 60.2-113 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 60.2-113. Employment stabilization.

The Commission shall take all necessary steps through its appropriate divisions and with the advice of such advisory boards and committees as it may have to:

1. Establish a viable labor exchange system to promote maximum employment for the Commonwealth of Virginia with priority given to those workers drawing unemployment benefits;

2. Provide Virginia State Job Service services, as described in this title, according to the provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49f), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act;

3. Maintain a solvent trust fund financed through equitable employer taxes that provide temporary partial income replacement to involuntarily unemployed covered workers;

3.4. Coordinate and conduct labor market information research studies, programs and operations, including the development, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information on the social and economic aspects of the Commonwealth and publish data needed by employers, economic development, education and training entities, government and other users in the public and private sectors;

4.5. Determine and publish a list of jobs, trades, and professions for which a high demand of qualified workers exists or is projected by the Commission. The Commission shall consult with the Virginia Workforce Council in making such determination. Such information shall be published biennially and disseminated to employers; education and training entities, including public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education; government agencies, including the Department of Education and public libraries; and other users in the public and private sectors;

5.6. Prepare official short and long-range population projections for the Commonwealth for use by the General Assembly and state agencies with programs which involve or necessitate population projections;

6.7. Encourage and assist in the adoption of practical methods of vocational guidance, training and retraining; and

7.8. Establish the Interagency Migrant Worker Policy Committee, comprised of representatives from appropriate state agencies, including the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, whose services and jurisdictions involve migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their employees. The Committee shall coordinate its activities with the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Board established in § 2.2-2407. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall be required to cooperate with the Committee upon request.