Senate panel reviews H.34 to split workforce leadership between Labor commissioner and new executive director

Senate members reviewing H.34 on Labor and Workforce Day heard that the bill clarifies leadership for Vermont’s workforce system by making the Commissioner of Labor and the Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development co-leaders of workforce education, training and employment efforts in state statute.

Why it matters: committee staff said H.34 reorganizes, rather than creates, authority to reduce overlapping duties after the 2024 creation of the new office. The bill is intended to align state responsibilities with the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) while setting out distinct administration and strategy functions for the two leaders.

In testimony, Rick Segal of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee that "most of what H.34 does is moving words around" and that the bill "makes it clear that the Commissioner of Labor and the Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development shall be the leaders of workforce education and employment and training in the state." Segal said the change was needed because Act 146 (passed last year) created the new office but the statutory section that sets workforce leadership—referred to in the session as "10 BSA 5 40"—had not been updated to reflect the split of responsibilities.

Officials from the Department of Labor described how duties are allocated. Commissioner Michael Harrington and Deputy Commissioner Kendall Smith explained that the commissioner will retain administration of Department of Labor programs, including those funded under federal WIOA, and will continue to serve as the state workforce administrator required by federal law. As described in the bill text presented to the committee, commissioner responsibilities include administering Department of Labor education and training programs, entering interagency agreements to assist individuals receiving public assistance, establishing job centers, maintaining a job board, and requiring outcome reporting from state-funded training providers.

The executive director’s duties, as set out in the draft language, emphasize statewide strategy and coordination. The bill text requires the executive director to advise the governor and cabinet on an integrated workforce system, coordinate across public and private sectors, develop a comprehensive workforce strategy with measurable statewide goals and a biennial operational plan, create and maintain a publicly accessible inventory of workforce programs, and produce a comprehensive biennial report to the governor and specified legislative committees (due on or before Dec. 1 and covering the prior two calendar years).

Bill drafters told the committee the measure does not create new positions but repurposes two existing roles; it also specifies that the executive director is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate and that the office will receive administrative and technical support from the Department of Labor. Segal noted that the bill "does not limit, restrict, or suspend any similar powers the commissioner of labor or this director may have under other provisions." He also said the bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

Several legislators pressed for clarity on reporting lines and implementation. One senator asked whether the executive director "works for the commissioner of labor, or is this a completely separate... what's the reporting line?" The answer in committee was that the office is separate: the executive director is a governor-appointed, Senate-confirmed position and reports to the governor, while the office receives administrative support from the Department of Labor. Legislators asked for an organizational chart and flowchart to be provided to the committee to show operations and the office’s relationship with the State Workforce Development Board.

Committee members also asked for concrete program metrics and historic grant information; Department of Labor staff said they will return with detailed grant and enrollment data at a later meeting. Senators expressed mixed views: several supported the clarity H.34 seeks to create, while others said they remain unconvinced the added office is a useful expenditure and asked for evidence that the change reduces duplication.

What happens next: the committee received the bill draft and amendments referenced in the hearing and asked staff and agency representatives to return with additional materials, including organizational charts, program metrics and grant histories, to help the committee evaluate whether the bill appropriately assigns duties without duplicating functions already performed by the Department of Labor.

Ending: the committee did not take a formal vote on H.34 during the session; members directed staff to provide follow-up documents and asked agencies to return with the requested data and charts.