Rhode Island § 28-45-2 - Apprenticeship Programs in Trade and Industry

§ 28-45-2. Apprenticeship council.

(a) The director of labor and training, with the advice and consent of the governor, shall appoint a state apprenticeship council composed of four (4) representatives each, from employer and employee organizations respectively, and one public member. One of the employer representatives shall represent a business employing less than fifty (50) employees. In making the appointments, the director shall give due consideration to include representatives from different types of industries, including those industries participating in non-trade apprenticeship programs established pursuant to § 42-102-11. The council shall, by majority vote, elect from its membership a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a secretary. The vice-chairperson shall act in the absence or inability of the chairperson.

(b) Upon the expiration of the terms of the council’s present membership, the director of labor and training, with the advice and consent of the governor, shall appoint members to the apprenticeship council for initial terms, and those members shall hold office until their successors are appointed and have qualified, as follows:

(1) One representative each, from employer and employee organizations respectively, for an initial term of one year;

(2) One representative each, from employer and employee organizations respectively, for an initial term of two (2) years;

(3) One representative each, from employer and employee organizations respectively, for an initial term of three (3) years;

(4) One representative each, from employer and employee organizations respectively, for an initial term of four (4) years; and

(5) One public member, representing a community organization, for an initial term of four (4) years.

(c) Upon the expiration of those initial terms, members shall be appointed for terms of four (4) years and shall hold office until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Any vacancy shall be filled by appointments by the director of labor and training, with the advice and consent of the governor, for the unexpired portion of the term. The commissioner of elementary and secondary education and the director of labor and training shall be members of the council, ex-officio, without vote.

(d) The council may, by majority vote, designate any consultants that it may deem necessary and desirable to assist it in the performance of its duties.

(e) Members of the board shall not be compensated for their service on the board.