By Deshotel H.B. No. 566
77R865 JMM-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 207.021, Labor Code, is amended to read
1-5 as follows:
1-6 Sec. 207.021. BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS. [(a)] Except
1-7 as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed individual is eligible to
1-8 receive benefits for a benefit period if the individual:
1-9 (1) has registered for work at an employment office
1-10 and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
1-11 rules adopted by the commission;
1-12 (2) has made a claim for benefits under Section
1-13 208.001;
1-14 (3) is able to work;
1-15 (4) is available for work;
1-16 (5) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
1-17 credits:
1-18 (A) in at least two calendar quarters; and
1-19 (B) in an amount not less than 37 times the
1-20 individual's benefit amount;
1-21 (6) after the beginning date of the individual's most
1-22 recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
1-23 equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;
1-24 and
2-1 (7) [has been totally or partially unemployed for a
2-2 waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and]
2-3 [(8)] participates in reemployment services, such as a
2-4 job search assistance service, if the individual has been
2-5 determined, according to a profiling system established by the
2-6 commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
2-7 benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
2-8 unless:
2-9 (A) the individual has completed participation
2-10 in such a service; or
2-11 (B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
2-12 the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
2-13 those services.
2-14 [(b) A week may not be counted as a waiting period week for
2-15 the purposes of this section:]
2-16 [(1) unless the individual has registered for work at
2-17 an employment office in accordance with Subsection (a)(1);]
2-18 [(2) unless it is after the filing of an initial
2-19 claim;]
2-20 [(3) unless the individual reports at an office of the
2-21 commission and certifies that the individual has met the waiting
2-22 period requirements;]
2-23 [(4) if benefits have been paid or are payable with
2-24 respect to the week;]
2-25 [(5) if the individual does not meet the eligibility
2-26 requirements of Subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4); and]
2-27 [(6) if the individual has been disqualified for
3-1 benefits for the seven-day period under Section 207.044, 207.045,
3-2 207.047, or 207.048.]
3-3 [(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
3-4 individual who has been paid benefits in the individual's current
3-5 benefit year equal to or exceeding three times the individual's
3-6 benefit amount is eligible to receive benefits on the individual's
3-7 waiting period claim in accordance with this subtitle.]
3-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
3-9 applies only to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits that
3-10 is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or after that date.
3-11 A claim filed before that date is governed by the law in effect on
3-12 the date that the claim was filed, and the former law is continued
3-13 in effect for that purpose.