DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY

    Only modest changes are evident in the final budget for the Department of Labor and Industry. The apparent drop in requested General Government funds is due to computer upgrades funded during the current year to prepare for the year 2000. The budget would include $276,000 for additional legal support to enforce the Prevailing Wage Law. The Occupation and Industrial Safety appropriation would include $570,000 to automate the inspection process to improve compliance with public health and safety laws.

    The budget includes a new $2 million appropriation for Vocational Rehabilitation Services. This new spending is intended to provide vocational rehabilitation to an additional 750 individuals. The initiative is combined with a new $1 million program to provide entrepreneurial assistance to persons with disabilities as part of a larger $13.3 million state plan to promote independence for persons with disabilities. See the Public Welfare section of this report for further explanation of the other initiatives.

JTPA

    President Clinton=s victory in the budget fight last year resulted in significant Increases in several categories of JTPA job training assistance. Total current year appropriations are nearly $40 million above last year=s spending level. Next year these appropriations are expected to increase by an additional $15 million.