BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 111
81R1586 PB-D By: Ellis
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, state law requires that for an individual to be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits, the individual must be unemployed for seven consecutive days before receiving payment of benefits. Current law also allows an individual to receive benefits earned during the seven day waiting period if the individual has earned three times the individual's benefit in unemployment benefits during that benefit year.
Thousands of individuals were temporarily unable to work in Texas due to Hurricane Ike, and were able to return to work relatively quickly. Those individuals could not meet the waiting period requirement and were unable to receive any unemployment compensation benefits.
As proposed, S.B. 111 authorizes the governor to suspend the waiting period requirement for unemployment compensation upon a federal disaster declaration to authorize individuals to receive benefits for the period of time they are temporarily unemployed.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 207, Labor Code, by adding Section 207.0212, as follows:
Sec. 207.0212. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS UNEMPLOYED BECAUSE OF DISASTER. (a) Defines "disaster unemployment assistance benefits."
(b) Authorizes the governor, notwithstanding Section 207.021 (Benefit Eligibility Conditions), by executive order, to suspend the waiting period requirement imposed under Section 207.021(a)(7) (relating to unemployment for a waiting period of seven consecutive days) to authorize an individual to receive benefits for that waiting period if that individual meets certain requirements.
SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.
SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2009.