START Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The START Act amends the National Apprenticeship Act to make registered apprenticeship approvals more standardized and time-bound. It requires the Secretary of Labor to operate a national apprenticeship system in which program sponsors submit standards identifying participating employers, labor organizations, training approach, state wage and safety compliance, and federal apprenticeship-rule compliance. Complete program standards must receive an approval or denial within 90 days, while incomplete standards must receive corrective feedback within 30 days. The Secretary must publish monthly average response times for complete and incomplete submissions.
The bill also reduces the formal gatekeeping role of State apprenticeship councils, creates a recurring state grant program for apprenticeship expansion, and requires State apprenticeship agencies to post reciprocity procedures and state standards online. The grant program is authorized at $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year afterward. States may use funds for technical assistance, apprentice training wages, outreach, and employer incentives, but their awards can be reduced if their apprenticeship approval response times exceed the 90-day or 30-day benchmarks.
Who Benefits and How
Prospective apprenticeship sponsors benefit from predictable submission requirements, faster feedback, and public response-time reporting by the Department of Labor and State apprenticeship agencies. Employers that sponsor registered apprenticeships can benefit from state-funded outreach, technical assistance, and financial incentives. Apprentices and new apprentices can benefit because states may spend grant funds on training costs, including apprentice wages, and because competency-based programs must still include on-the-job learning. State governments with active or planned apprenticeship systems gain access to annual formula grants and matching funds for workforce-development activities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Secretary of Labor must administer the national registration standards, track complete and incomplete submissions, publish monthly response-time data, establish annual grant allotment formulas, and oversee the state grant program. State apprenticeship agencies must review submissions within the bill's time frames, provide corrective feedback, post reciprocity procedures and state standards online, and manage grant matching notices if they seek funds. State apprenticeship councils bear a loss of authority because they may not have final decision-making power over program standards and may not be required to recommend standards. States with slow apprenticeship-agency response times risk grant deductions, and federal taxpayers bear the cost of the $150 million annual authorization.
Key Provisions
- Requires complete apprenticeship program standards to receive an approval or denial within 90 days and incomplete standards to receive corrective feedback within 30 days.
- Requires the Secretary of Labor to publish monthly average response times for complete and incomplete apprenticeship standards submissions.
- Limits State apprenticeship councils by barring them from final decision-making authority over apprenticeship program standards.
- Authorizes $150,000,000 each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 2027 for formula grants to states supporting registered apprenticeships.
- Requires State apprenticeship agencies to post reciprocity procedures, state minimum wage requirements, safety standards, and documentation instructions online.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The START Act standardizes and speeds up federal and state registered apprenticeship approvals, creates an annual state grant program, and requires public posting of state apprenticeship reciprocity and standards information.
Key Policy Areas
Labor, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
The START Act standardizes and speeds up federal and state registered apprenticeship approvals, creates an annual state grant program, and requires public posting of state apprenticeship reciprocity and standards information.
Policy Domains
State Apprenticeship Formula Grants
Identified Gains
- State apprenticeship agencies receiving formula grants
- Registered apprentices whose training wages are funded
- Employers investing in registered apprenticeship programs
Identified Costs
- Department of Labor grant administrators
- States submitting matching notices
- State apprenticeship agencies with slow response times
- Federal taxpayers
Registration Timelines and Public Transparency
Identified Gains
- Prospective apprenticeship program sponsors
- Employers sponsoring registered apprenticeships
- Apprentices in competency-based programs
Identified Costs
- Secretary of Labor
- State apprenticeship agencies
- State apprenticeship councils
Sponsors
Jim Banks
R-IN | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeRead twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, …
Introduced in Senate
Mr. Banks (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Apprentices in competency-based programs, Apprentices in registered programs, Employers investing in registered apprenticeship programs
State apprenticeship agencies, State apprenticeship agencies receiving formula grants, State apprenticeship agencies with slow response times
Department of Labor apprenticeship registration staff, Department of Labor grant administrators, Secretary of Labor
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Labor
- "prospective_sponsor"
- → Prospective apprenticeship program sponsor
- "state_apprenticeship_agency"
- → State apprenticeship agency
- "state_apprenticeship_council"
- → State apprenticeship council
- "state"
- → State government, District of Columbia, territory, or possession
- "apprentice"
- → Individual participating in a registered apprenticeship program
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Labor
- "new_apprentice"
- → Newly enrolled registered apprentice for the program year
- "state_apprenticeship_agency"
- → State apprenticeship agency
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Measures skill acquisition in a registered apprenticeship program through successful demonstration of acquired skills and knowledge, as verified by the sponsor, while still requiring on-the-job learning.
Submitted program standards that include the required entity list, training approach, state compliance information, and federal apprenticeship compliance information, with no clerical errors.
Submitted standards that miss at least one required element or contain clerical errors identified by the Secretary or State apprenticeship agency.
A state government entity recognized by the Secretary for approving program standards that conform with national apprenticeship system standards.
An apprentice newly enrolled in a registered apprenticeship program during the program year used for the grant formula.
A non-approval response from a State apprenticeship agency that gives clear instructions for changing submitted standards to meet registration requirements.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology