64. a. The Commissioner of Education, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, shall establish a program to provide additional funding for apprenticeship programs registered by the federal Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training in the United States Department of Labor. There shall be appropriated annually in fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2005 the sum of $3,000,000 to accomplish this purpose.

b. The commissioners of the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall establish guidelines for the distribution of funds under the program, including a provision that requires a majority of the funding to assist apprenticeship programs in urban areas. The guidelines shall also include a list of those types of entities eligible for funding including, but not limited to, county colleges, county vocational schools, unions and other sponsors of apprenticeship programs deemed appropriate. Eligible entities shall be permitted to use the funding provided pursuant to the program to fund student grants. Pursuant to established guidelines, the commissioners of the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall be responsible for the distribution of funds under the program.

L.2000, c.72, s.64; amended 2007, c.39, s.12.