88R10003 SCP-F
 
  By: Button H.B. No. 2586
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to participation in reemployment services as a condition
  of eligibility for unemployment 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 work;
               (5)  is actively seeking work in accordance with rules
  adopted by the commission;
               (6)  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;
               (7)  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;
               (8)  has been totally or partially unemployed for a
  waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and
               (9)  participates in reemployment services, such as a
  job search assistance service, as required by commission rule [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.  Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, as amended by
  this Act, applies only to a claim for unemployment compensation
  benefits that is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or
  after the effective date of this Act. A claim filed before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the claim was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules to
  implement Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.