83R7427 KSD-F

By: Eltife S.B. No. 920

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the requirement that an unemployed individual be actively seeking work to be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if the individual:

(1) has registered for work at an employment office and has continued to report to the employment office as required by rules adopted by the commission;

(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section 208.001;

(3) is able to work;

(4) is available for and actively seeking work;

(5) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage credits:

(A) in at least two calendar quarters; and

(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the individual's benefit amount;

(6) after the beginning date of the individual's most recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;

(7) has been totally or partially unemployed for a waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and

(8) participates in reemployment services, such as a job search assistance service, if the individual has been determined, according to a profiling system established by the commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment, unless:

(A) the individual has completed participation in such a service; or

(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in those services.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.