Washington Report - July 20, 2023

Career and Technical Education (CTE)
On July 19, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee is scheduled to mark up several bills, including S. 936—the Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act. This bipartisan bill led by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and cosponsored by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Chris Koons (D-DE) directs Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and Women Business Centers (WBC) to assist small businesses in hiring CTE program graduates. It also affords CTE graduates access to SBDC and WBC resources that are useful for starting a small business. The companion legislation in the House is H.R. 1730, also a bipartisan bill led by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) and cosponsored by a balanced mix of House Democrats and Republicans.

Also on the CTE front, Senate CTE Caucus co-chairs Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Todd Young (R-IN), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) earlier this month introduced S. 2290--the Data for American Jobs Act of 2023, bipartisan legislation to support career and technical education (CTE) and expand pathways to good-paying jobs. The legislation ensures that federal education data and research incorporate CTE to help improve states’ career readiness programs, meet the needs of the economy and expand the skilled workforce.

Specifically, this bill directs the Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences to incorporate CTE into its research and data collection agenda and empowers states to better use data to inform education and workforce development policy. Areas of data collection would be the following:

• Research relevant to career and technical education including, research on which methods are most effective for CTE learners;
• Sharing of CTE research to inform development of effective curricula for students and faculty;
• Data collection on the CTE teacher workforce to address training, recruitment and retention; and
• Examining the workforce and labor market outcomes to help CTE programs better meet the needs of local employers.

The legislation would also support state efforts to more effectively use education and workforce data to inform education and workforce development policy. The bill was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

OSHA Heat Standard
Late last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) notified the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy that OSHA intends to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel on a possible “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” rule in the next sixty days. The panel will host a series of video conferences with Small Entity Representatives (SERs) selected from potentially regulated sectors in the September 2023 timeframe. The panel will conclude with a final report to the OSHA Administrator within 60 days of the actual convening date.

An OSHA heat standard rule would apply to employers whose employees are exposed to hazardous heat and could cover outdoor and indoor work in any or all of the General Industry, Construction, Maritime, and Agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction. Therefore, the panel is seeking participation from a wide range of sectors and welcomes SERs from any industry that might be affected. OSHA is particularly interested in feedback from industries that it expects to be most affected by such a standard, including the following industries:

• Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
• Building Material Suppliers
• Commercial Kitchens
• Construction, Telecommunications, and Utilities
• Drycleaners and Commercial Laundry
• Fire Protection
• Landscaping, Facilities Support, Maintenance, and Repair
• Manufacturing
• Material Handling, Transportation, and Warehousing
• Oil and Gas
• Recreation and Amusement
• Waste Management

A proposed heat standard is causing concern in the business community due to the uncertain nature of what a heat standard would look like and its impacts on running a business. OSHA has floated ideas around mandatory rest periods for workers during high heat days. But what is considered “hot” in Florida or Georgia is different than “hot” in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Many comments were submitted on an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) earlier this year expressing concerns with a one-size-fits-all heat standard. WMMA will be following action on this rulemaking closely and will report regularly on developments.

Tax
In last month’s report, we highlighted that the House was moving forward on tax legislation that would extend several key tax benefits that have lapsed, namely the 100 percent bonus depreciation tax credit and the research and development tax credit. The tax package also includes provisions improving interest deductibility. There has been a snag, however, in the form of the State and Local Tax (SALT) cap that was enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A handful of Republicans and Democrats from high tax states like New Jersey, New York and California are insisting that any tax bill include modifications or removal of the cap. At present, this issue is a non-starter for House Republican leadership. Given the slim margin of control in the House, small blocks of legislators can completely stymie consideration of legislative priorities. WMMA is close to the action and will keep you apprised of progress as negotiations mature.