Title 29LaborRelease 119-73

§3253 Continuation of State activities and policies

Title 29 › Chapter CHAPTER 32— - WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES › Part Part E— - Administration › § 3253

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The federal Secretary cannot refuse to approve a covered State’s plan, deny its funding, or say the State or its local areas broke the rules just because the State keeps using certain older State rules for how it handles workforce funds and boards. That protection covers things like how the State or local boards allocate or spend funds under sections 3162 or 3172 using prior formulas or disbursal methods; using fiscal agents chosen under older State procedures; letting State or local officials pick one-stop partners and operators under prior State rules instead of following section 3151; allowing selectors to bar a provider from doing both intake (section 3174(c)(2)) and training (section 3174(c)(3)); naming a State board or assigning its duties (including timing for State plans under sections 3112 or 3113); and local boards using older local plans and roles that came from private industry councils. A "covered State" is a State that passed those earlier laws. "Prior consistent State laws" means State laws that went into effect on September 1, 1993; September 1, 1995; and September 1, 1997, and that do not conflict with the Job Training Partnership Act or other federal law.

Full Legal Text

Title 29, §3253

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(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the Secretary may not deny approval of a State plan for a covered State, or an application of a covered State for financial assistance, under this subchapter, or find a covered State (including a State board or Governor), or a local area (including a local board or chief elected official) in a covered State, in violation of a provision of this subchapter, on the basis that—
(1)(A)the State proposes to allocate or disburse, allocates, or disburses, within the State, funds made available to the State under section 3162 or 3172 of this title in accordance with the allocation formula for the type of activities involved, or in accordance with a disbursal procedure or process, used by the State under prior consistent State laws; or
(B)a local board in the State proposes to disburse, or disburses, within the local area, funds made available to the State under section 3162 or 3172 of this title in accordance with a disbursal procedure or process used by a private industry council under prior consistent State law;
(2)the State proposes to carry out or carries out a State procedure through which local areas use, as fiscal agents for funds made available to the State under section 3162 or 3172 of this title and allocated within the State, fiscal agents selected in accordance with a process established under prior consistent State laws;
(3)the State proposes to carry out or carries out a State procedure through which the local boards in the State (or the local boards, the chief elected officials in the State, and the Governor) designate or select the one-stop partners and one-stop operators of the statewide system in the State under prior consistent State laws, in lieu of making the designation or certification described in section 3151 of this title (regardless of the date the one-stop delivery systems involved have been established);
(4)the State proposes to carry out or carries out a State procedure through which the persons responsible for selecting eligible providers for purposes of part B are permitted to determine that a provider shall not be selected to provide both intake services under section 3174(c)(2) of this title and training services under section 3174(c)(3) of this title, under prior consistent State laws;
(5)the State proposes to designate or designates a State board, or proposes to assign or assigns functions and roles of the State board (including determining the time periods for development and submission of a State plan required under section 3112 or 3113 of this title), for purposes of part A in accordance with prior consistent State laws; or
(6)a local board in the State proposes to use or carry out, uses, or carries out a local plan (including assigning functions and roles of the local board) for purposes of part A in accordance with the authorities and requirements applicable to local plans and private industry councils under prior consistent State laws.
(b)In this section:
(1)The term “covered State” means a State that enacted State laws described in paragraph (2).
(2)The term “prior consistent State laws” means State laws, not inconsistent with the Job Training Partnership Act or any other applicable Federal law, that took effect on September 1, 1993, September 1, 1995, and September 1, 1997.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Job Training Partnership Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is Pub. L. 97–300, Oct. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1322, which was classified generally to chapter 19 (§ 1501 et seq.) of this title and was repealed by Pub. L. 105–220, title I, § 199(b)(2), (c)(2)(B), Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1059, effective
July 1, 2000. Pursuant to former section 2940(b) of this title, references to a provision of the Job Training Partnership Act, effective Aug. 7, 1998, were deemed to refer to that provision or the corresponding provision of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105–220, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 936, and, effective
July 1, 2000, were deemed to refer to the corresponding provision of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 was repealed by Pub. L. 113–128, title V, §§ 506, 511(a),
July 22, 2014, 128 Stat. 1703, 1705, effective
July 1, 2015. For complete classification of the Job Training Partnership Act and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to the Code, see Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the first day of the first full program year after
July 22, 2014 (
July 1, 2015), see section 506 of Pub. L. 113–128, set out as a note under section 3101 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

29 U.S.C. § 3253

Title 29Labor

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73