DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY Local Area Designations under the Workforce Investment Act [29 Pa.B. 875] The Department of Labor and Industry on behalf of the Governor is publishing the Workforce Investment Act Local Area Designation plan for Pennsylvania. Under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Governors are required to designate local workforce investment areas within the state through consultation with the State Board, after consultation with chief elected officials and after consideration of comments received through a public comment process.
The Governor solicited comments from local elected officials throughout the State and received designation requests covering every County within the State. At its January 28, 1999 meeting, the Team Pennsylvania Human Resources Investment Council (HRIC), Pennsylvania's State Workforce Investment Board, recommended a multi-phase local workforce investment area designation process and recommended 11 local areas to be included in Phase 1 of the designation process.
The multi-phase designation process will enable local areas to be designated, authorize chief elected officials to appoint local Workforce Investment Boards, and to commence planning so that the local area will be able to implement the Workforce Investment Act on July 1, 1999. Subsequent Phases will identify local areas in the remaining areas of the state not included within the areas identified in Phase 1. The HRIC authorized its Chartering Committee to review and recommend to the Governor on their behalf additional local areas ready for designation prior to the Council's next meeting in March 1999. This will enable the remaining local areas to proceed with local workforce investment board appointments and systems development.
The following local areas have been identified by the Governor based on the recommendation of the Team Pennsylvania Human Resources Investment Council for inclusion in the Phase 1 designation:
* Philadelphia
* Delaware County
* Chester County
* Montgomery County
* Bucks County
* Lancaster County
* Berks County
* Lehigh Valley--consisting of Lehigh and Northampton Counties
* Northern Tier--consisting of Tioga, Bradford, Susquehanna, Sullivan and Wyoming Counties
* Southern Alleghenies--consisting of Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon, Somerset, Bedford and Fulton Counties
* Northcentral--consisting of McKean, Potter, Elk, Cameron, Jefferson and Clearfield Counties
Any interested party wishing to comment on the multi-phase designation process or on the local areas indicated for inclusion in Phase 1, must do so in writing by the close of business February 26, 1999. Comments should be forwarded to: Timothy Bittle, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Workforce Development and Safety, Department of Labor & Industry, 17th Floor Labor & Industry Building, Seventh and Forster Streets, Harrisburg, PA 17120.
JOHNNY J. BUTLER,
Secretary[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-240. Filed for public inspection February 12, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]
