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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to removing the waiting period for unemployment benefit |
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eligibility. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed |
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individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if |
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the individual: |
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(1) has registered for work at an employment office |
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and has continued to report to the employment office as required by |
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rules adopted by the commission; |
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(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section |
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208.001; |
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(3) is able to work; |
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(4) is available for work; |
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(5) is actively seeking work in accordance with rules |
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adopted by the commission; |
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(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage |
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credits: |
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(A) in at least two calendar quarters; and |
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(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the |
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individual's benefit amount; |
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(7) after the beginning date of the individual's most |
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recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount |
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equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount; |
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and |
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(8) [has been totally or partially unemployed for a |
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waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and |
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[(9)] participates in reemployment services, such as a |
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job search assistance service, if the individual has been |
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determined, according to a profiling system established by the |
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commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular |
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benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment, |
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unless: |
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(A) the individual has completed participation |
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in such a service; or |
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(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by |
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the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in |
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those services. |
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SECTION 2. The following provisions are repealed: |
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(1) Sections 207.021(b) and (c), Labor Code; and |
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(2) Section 207.0212, Labor Code. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the |
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Texas Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this |
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Act. A claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former |
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law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |