Arizona lawmakers considered some apprenticeship-related bills during the 2024 legislative session, but only a few were signed into law – lawmakers plan to reintroduce measures next year that didn’t pass.
One measure signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs was House Bill 2090, which supporters say will add value to apprenticeship certificates and help Arizona contractors with apprenticeship certificates work in other states.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert, was unanimously supported by lawmakers. The new law now allows a person who completes an approved apprenticeship program or the apprenticeship program sponsor to file the certificate of completion with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, the agency that licenses and regulates residential and commercial contractors in the state.
Barry Aarons, who lobbied for the bill at a Jan. 25 House Commerce Committee hearing, said, “Electricians aren’t licensed in our state. Qualifying parties are, so if an electrician wants to go to another state, they will now have something on file with the Registrar of Contractors that will demonstrate to the other state that they have accomplished what they are supposed to.”
Aarons also said the law acts as a consumer protection measure by allowing consumers to see that a contractor has obtained certification.
Another bill that got attention from lawmakers during the session was House Bill 2885, sponsored by Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tuscon.
Hernandez’s bill would have allowed people convicted of certain crimes who are on probation to leave the county they reside in for the purposes of traveling to an apprenticeship job site.
In Arizona, people on probation must stay within the jurisdiction they reside in and need to seek permission from a probation officer and the courts to leave, which can take some time.
The measure was widely supported in the House. It got through the House Commerce Committee unanimously and it passed the floor 56-3.
“Every metric that we have that looks at it says gainful employment after they’re out of prison is the best defense against recidivism,” Rep. Justin Heap, R-Mesa, said during a Feb. 13 House Commerce Committee meeting for the bill. “In this case, (they’re) actually getting job training for actual skills where they’re monitored and working with others in a good environment – so it’s a good bill.”
HB2885 was held in the Senate. It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale.
Kern never heard the measure in committee. Hernandez told the Arizona Capitol Times she believes his decision not to hear the bill was political.
“(Kern) had been very public about his dislike of me,” Hernandez said.
She said she’s hopeful the bill will become law next session with Kern no longer in the Legislature after he lost his primary race to be the Republican nominee in the U.S. House race for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
“It was a great bipartisan bill as legislators on both sides understood the importance of allowing these individuals to succeed and have an opportunity to a real paying job with the hope to lower recidivism rates,” Hernandez said.
One apprenticeship bill that was never assigned to a committee is HB2829, sponsored by Rep. Seth Blattman, D-Mesa.
Blattman’s bill would have required a regulating authority to establish criteria necessary for granting apprenticeship licenses or certificates. Had the bill gone into effect, applicants would be required to complete their apprenticeship program at an approved school or with training from a person who has the same license the applicant is seeking.
The goal of the bill was to make it easier for people to get licenses through apprenticeships, Blattman said. Blattman’s bill was never given a committee hearing.
Sen. Flavio Bravo, D-Phoenix, ran a mirror bill of Blattman’s in the Senate, but that measure also never got a committee hearing.
Two other Democrats filed bills related to apprenticeships that never received committee hearings.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
