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Maryland labor secretary asks committee to back RAISE Act to expand registered apprenticeships
Summary
Portia Wu, Maryland labor secretary, and building trades representatives urged House Economic Matters Committee support for the RAISE Act amendments to grow registered apprenticeship, create a new office and advisory board, and re-establish incentive funding for sponsors.
Portia Wu, secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, told the House Economic Matters Committee the Governor’s RAISE Act, as amended by the Senate, would expand registered apprenticeship into new industries and communities and called for a favorable report on the bill.
“The changes establish a new advisory board, enhance tracking of program outcomes, and ensure timeliness and clarity for employers seeking to get apprenticeship programs approved,” Wu said, adding that 93 percent of apprentices retain employment after completing a program. She said the amended bill creates a “qualified intermediary” program to connect employers, apprentices and training providers, reintroduces a pay-per-apprentice incentive to offset startup costs, codifies a general 1-to-1 supervisor-to-apprentice ratio while providing an expedited pathway for nonhazardous occupations, and establishes the Maryland Office of Registered Apprenticeship Development.
Wu described the bill as a collaborative effort between the administration, union partners, legislators and employers and said the changes would preserve safety standards while removing barriers to apprenticeship adoption in nontraditional fields.
Ray Baker, Maryland director for the Baltimore-DC Building Trades, testified in support and said his organization had worked with the administration on the bill. “We support the bill with amendments, we urge a favorable report,” Baker said.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about the 1-to-1 ratio and whether licensure pathways (for example for plumbers) remained in the bill; Wu said the bill maintains safety standards for hazardous trades and that a specific auto-licensing section for plumbers had been removed based on building trades’ concerns. No committee vote was recorded in the transcript provided; Secretary Wu requested a favorable report.
The transcript shows the administration and a building trades representative on the record in support of the amended RAISE Act and answers to committee questions, but it does not record formal action by the committee on the bill.
