An Act to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-2035, 2.2-2041, 2.2-2046, 2.2-2472, 23.1-2907.2, 40.1-6, and 54.1-1131 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact the seventh enactment of Chapter 624 and the seventh enactment of Chapter 625 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023, relating to Department of Workforce Development and Advancement; workforce development programs; apprenticeship program.
HB693 revises Virginia’s workforce development framework by updating the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement’s governing statutes and related provisions governing workforce programs, data sharing, and apprenticeship-related programs. The bill confirms the Department’s role as the state’s lead workforce agency and authorizes the Commissioner to organize internal divisions and assign duties within the Department.
A major feature of the bill is the expansion and formalization of the Virginia Workforce Data Trust. It requires specified agencies to share limited identifying and attribute data, subject to state and federal law, for program evaluation, reporting, coordination of services, consumer-facing applications, and performance-based contracting. The bill requires the data to be encrypted, transmitted to the Governor or designee, governed by a memorandum of understanding, and destroyed after the required analyses are complete. It also allows the use of a third-party entity to assist with evaluation and analysis and contemplates adding more organizations, systems, data elements, and functionality over time.
The bill amends multiple sections of the Code of Virginia affecting the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, workforce program evaluation and data governance, higher education workforce coordination, and apprenticeship-related provisions. It also updates enactments from 2023 to align with the new workforce data and program structure. In practical terms, it expands interagency data sharing across workforce, education, social services, rehabilitation, and juvenile justice programs, while imposing encryption, confidentiality, and destruction requirements on shared data.
The available record shows the bill was enacted as Chapter 662 and approved by the Governor, indicating overall support and no recorded committee or floor controversy in the materials provided. The bill’s structure suggests a policy emphasis on coordination, accountability, and data-driven workforce planning, which typically draws bipartisan interest when framed as administrative modernization and program efficiency. No vote breakdowns or transcript excerpts are available to show dissent.
No specific objections are documented in the provided transcripts or voting history, but the bill’s data-sharing provisions are the most likely area of concern. Potential points of contention include privacy, data security, the scope of agencies required to share information, the use of a Governor-controlled data repository, and the role of third-party entities in evaluating sensitive program data. Any concerns would likely come from stakeholders focused on confidentiality, administrative burden, or limits on interagency data use.