Introduced
by
To revise various elements of the state unemployment insurance social welfare system. This is part of a package with Senate Bills 483 and 484, which authorize state borrowing to pay off some $3.2 billion owed to the federal government to cover benefit payments that exceeded payroll tax collections over several years. The bills would revise the formulas for assessing these payroll taxes on employers, require beneficiaries to accept alternative work at lower pay than currently required, increase required job-search disclosures and reporting by beneficiaries, and more.
Referred to the Committee on Finance
Reported without amendment
With the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
Substitute offered
To replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance as previously described.
The substitute passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To undo a recent change that reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks the amount of time a laid off employee can collect state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To strip out a provision that would require documentation from a medical professonal for an employee who quit a job medical reasons (and so is still eligible for unemployment benefits).
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To strip out a provision that under which only wages earned after enactment of this bill would be used to determine unemployment benefits under a narrow set of circumstances described in the provision.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To index state unemployment benefit levels to inflation.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate from $362 to $372.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate for each dependent from $6 to $20.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To strip out a provision that would require a person to take any job after half the number of weeks for which he or she is eligible for benefits, even if the job is outside the person's usual field, pays at least the state "minimum wage," and the pay exceeds the person's weekly unemployment benefit by at least 20 percent.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To undo a recent change that reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks the amount of time a laid off employee can collect state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The amendment failed 12 to 22 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To authorize unemployment insurance benefits for employees in a “work sharing” program, in which an employer temporarily reduces employee hours when business is depressed. The bill would establish detailed regulations that employer work sharing programs would have to meet for employees to still be eligible for unemployment benefits. This is essentially the proposal in Senate Bill 687. Note: Although the amendment originally passed, upon later reconsider it was rejected. Reportedly, Sen. Bruce Caswell plans to take up a similar measure in 2012.
The amendment passed 23 to 11 (details)
Passed in the Senate 23 to 11 (details)
To revise various elements of the state unemployment insurance social welfare system. This is part of the package authorizing state borrowing to pay off some $3.2 billion in unemployment system debt, owed because benefit payments exceeded payroll tax revenues (see Senate Bills 483 and 484). The bill would revise the formulas for assessing these payroll taxes on employers; require beneficiaries to accept alternative work at lower pay than currently required; increase required job-search disclosures and reporting by beneficiaries; clarify factors making an employee ineligible for unemployment benefits (like stealing or absenteeism); and more.
Referred to the Committee on Commerce
Reported without amendment
With the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
Substitute offered
To replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance as previously described.
The substitute passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To tie-bar the bill to House Bill 4681, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 4691 would exempt state and federal unemployment benefits from the state income tax, a current exemption that was mistakenly left out of an overhaul of the state tax system adopted earlier in 2011. Reportedly legislative leaders intend to reinstate the exemption, but have hesitated becauae of the likelihood that poltically "uncomfortable" amendments will be offered to undo some of the earlier tax system changes, including the (intentional) removal of a tax exemption for certain pension benefits.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To tie-bar the bill to House Bill 5144, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 5144 would authorize a business tax break of up to $4,000 for hiring a military veteran who has been unemployed for at least 60 days, with some exceptions.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To tie-bar the bill to House Bill 5200, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 5200 would give business tax breaks of up to $3,000 to businesses for each employee they hire for at least a year who affirms that he or she has been unemployed for at least 60 days, subject to various conditions and restrictions.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To undo a recent change that reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks the amount of time a laid off employee can collect state unemployment insurance benefits.
The amendment failed 46 to 62 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To limit to 20 percent the amount of unemployment benefits that can be garnished under a court order on a individual who owes a debt to another person.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To revise a provision that reduces a person's unemployment benefits if the amount they have been receiving is more than it should be. The bill would allow current benefits to be cut by 50 percent, and the amendment would cut this back to 20 percent (the same as under current law).
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To establish that a person does not lose eligibility for unemployment benefits for accepting "a referral to another employer from a union hiring hall".
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To not impose a higher unemployment insurance tax ("assessment") on the employer of a military spouse who leaves workd and collects unemployment benefits because his or her spouse was reassigned to a different location.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To allow a person collecting unemployment benefits to take a part time job and still collect benefits, but at a lower level.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Passed in the House 61 to 47 (details)
To revise various elements of the state unemployment insurance social welfare system. This is part of the package authorizing state borrowing to pay off some $3.2 billion in unemployment system debt, owed because benefit payments exceeded payroll tax revenues (see Senate Bills 483 and 484). The bill would revise the formulas for assessing these payroll taxes on employers; require beneficiaries to accept alternative work at lower pay than currently required; increase required job-search disclosures and reporting by beneficiaries; clarify factors making an employee ineligible for unemployment benefits (like stealing or absenteeism); and more. It would also make employees in a “work sharing” program eligible for unemployment benefits.
Amendment offered
by
To increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate from $362 to $372.
The amendment failed 12 to 25 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To authorize unemployment insurance benefits for employees in a “work sharing” program, in which an employer temporarily reduces employee hours when business is depressed. The bill would establish detailed regulations that employer work sharing programs would have to meet for employees to still be eligible for unemployment benefits. This is essentially the proposal in Senate Bill 687.
The amendment failed 11 to 26 (details)
Passed in the Senate 26 to 12 (details)
To concur with the House-passed version of the bill.
