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.