SB152 establishes a marine trades pathway at a regional career technology center based on workforce needs. It creates the non-lapsing Workforce Development and Innovation Fund to support career and technical education, funded by state appropriations, federal grants, and offshore wind lease auction proceeds. The Commissioner of Education can disburse funds following recommendations from the Offshore Wind Industry Workforce Training Center Committee. This committee focuses on the Gulf of Maine offshore wind industry’s workforce needs and suggests training, facility planning, and funding use.
The New Hampshire State House of Representatives passed SB152 on May 4, 2023 by a vote of 250 to 123. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this is an unnecessary creation of a bureaucratic arm of government. Taxpayers are on the hook for a non-lapsing fund that should be taken care of by the free market. Additionally, this feeds into the globalist green energy movement, which is already heavily subsidized by taxpayers.