Opinion No. (2000)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General ANTHONY M. SUMMERS Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE PHILLIP S. CRONIN, COUNTY COUNSEL, COUNTY OF FRESNO, has requested an opinion on the following question: Is the County of Fresno the only unit of local government within the county that qualifies for an automatic designation as a "local area" for purposes of the federal Workforce Investment Act? CONCLUSION The County of Fresno is the only unit of local government within the county that qualifies for an automatic designation as a "local area" for purposes of the federal Workforce Investment Act. ANALYSIS Congress recently enacted the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 ( 29 U.S.C. § 2801 -2945; "Act") 1 to replace the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982. Under the former law, the County of Fresno ("County") and the City of Fresno ("City") were jointly designated as a "service delivery area" for purposes of carrying out employment training and workforce development programs under a joint powers agreement. The Act has replaced "service delivery areas" with "local workforce investment areas." In each local area, a workforce investment board will set workforce investment policies and carry out…