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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
agriculture workforce program; interns; appropriation
Purpose
Beginning January 1, 2021, establishes the Agricultural Workforce Development Program (AWDP) to provide incentives for agricultural internships. Appropriates $250,000 in fiscal years (FYs) 2021 through 2024 from the state General Fund to the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) to implement the program.
Background
The AZDA is charged with overseeing and protecting Arizona's agriculture, business and public health through licensing, inspections and laboratory testing. Additionally, the AZDA coordinates agricultural education efforts to foster an understanding of Arizona's agriculture and to promote a more efficient cooperation and understanding among agricultural educators, producers, dealers, buyers, mass media and the consuming public (A.R.S. § 3-107).
S.B. 1206 appropriates $250,000 from the state General Fund in FY 2021s through 2024 to the AZDA.
Provisions
1. Establishes the AWDP to provide incentives to food-producing agricultural organizations to hire interns through partial reimbursement of internship costs.
2. Appropriates $250,000 from the state General Fund in FYs 2021-2024 and exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
3. Requires the Director of the AZDA to adopt rules that, at a minimum:
a) establish qualifications for a food-producing agricultural organization to participate in the AWDP and to provide an intern with a meaningful work experience;
b) give preference to food-producing agricultural organizations owned or operated by farmers and ranchers in rural and tribal areas or who are historically underserved;
c) requires food-producing agricultural organizations to pay interns at least the statutory minimum wage;
d) establish criteria for a food-producing agricultural organization to select qualified interns, including required educational experience and ability to perform meaningful work;
e) establish a process and time frame for selecting food-producing agricultural organizations and qualified interns;
f) establish accounting requirements for tracking internship costs; and
g) establish the process for a participating food-producing agricultural organization to seek reimbursement for the cost of the intern.
4. Authorizes the AZDA, subject to legislative appropriation, to reimburse qualified food‑producing agricultural organizations the actual cost to the to employ interns.
5. Directs the Director of the AZDA to determine the following, based on the annual legislative appropriation:
a) the number of internships to approve;
b) the amount of reimbursement per internship; and
c) whether a food-producing agricultural organization may be reimbursed for more than one internship in the same fiscal year.
6. Requires the AZDA to submit an annual report on or before December 1 regarding the program's effectiveness in achieving its purpose to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State.
7. Defines actual cost as the wages paid to an intern, reasonable allocation of fixed overhead expenses and all incidental costs directly related to the internship.
8. Defines agricultural organization as a business, nonprofit organization, community college or state university related to agriculture.
9. Defines historically underserved as a beginning farmer or rancher, a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher or a veteran farmer or rancher as defined in federal law.
10. Terminates the Program July 1, 2026.
11. Becomes effective on January 1, 2021.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 28, 2020
KN/CDT/gs