1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to workforce development; appropriating money to Comunidades 
1.3 	Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL) and African Career, Education, 
1.4 	and Resource, Inc. (ACER).
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. APPROPRIATION.
 1.7 	$2,450,000 in fiscal year 2022 and $2,450,000 in fiscal year 2023 are appropriated from 
1.8 	the general fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development for grants 
1.9 	to Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL) and African Career, 
1.10 	Education, and Resource, Inc. (ACER) to address employment disparities for immigrant 
1.11 	communities affected by COVID-19, which already suffered from disparities in income 
1.12 	and employment outcomes prior to the pandemic. Funds must be used statewide to support 
1.13 	job placement, career development, worker rights training, wage theft recovery, and 
1.14 	development of transferable skills in high-demand fields. Of these amounts, 50 percent is 
1.15 	for a grant to Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL) and 50 
1.16 	percent is for a grant to African Career, Education, and Resource, Inc. (ACER).