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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to claimant eligibility and initial claims under the |
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unemployment compensation system. |
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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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(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; and |
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(10) has satisfied any outstanding obligation in |
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relation to benefits improperly received by the individual as a |
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result of a wilful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a material |
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fact described by Section 214.003, including the amount of any |
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penalty assessed against the individual under that section, but |
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only if the benefit period for which the individual is seeking |
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benefits is not in the same benefit year in which the nondisclosure |
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or misrepresentation of a material fact occurred. |
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SECTION 2. Section 208.002(a), Labor Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) When used in connection with an initial claim, "last |
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work" and "person for whom the claimant last worked" refer to [: |
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[(1) the last person for whom the claimant actually |
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worked, if the claimant worked for that person for at least 30 hours |
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during a week; or |
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[(2)] the employer, as defined by Subchapter C, |
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Chapter 201, [or by the unemployment law of any other state,] for |
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whom the claimant last worked. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the Texas |
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Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |