88R6956 RDS-F
 
  By: Creighton S.B. No. 1847
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for unemployment
  benefits and the validity of certain claims for unemployment
  benefits submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission.
         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:
                     (A)  is actively seeking work; and 
                     (B)  during each week of the benefit period,
  performed at least four of the following work search activities,
  subject to verification by the commission:
                           (i)  completed and submitted an application
  for a job, other than an application submitted while attending a job
  fair;
                           (ii)  submitted a resume to an employer that
  advertised an active job opening;
                           (iii)  attended a job fair and submitted at
  least one application for a job while attending the job fair;
                           (iv)  participated in a job interview;
                           (v)  after submitting a resume or
  application or participating in a job interview, responded to an
  employer's inquiry; or 
                           (vi)  participated in a work search or
  professional training sponsored or approved 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, 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 207.047, Labor Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  An individual is disqualified for benefits if during the
  individual's current benefit year, the individual failed, without
  good cause, to:
               (1)  apply for available, suitable work when directed
  to do so by the commission;
               (2)  accept suitable work offered to the individual;
  [or]
               (3)  return to the individual's customary
  self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the commission;
  or
               (4)  respond to an employer's request for an interview
  or to attend a scheduled interview.
         (c)  An employer shall report to the commission any
  individual who:
               (1)  refuses to return to work;
               (2)  refuses a suitable offer of employment;
               (3)  fails to respond to the employer's request for an
  interview; or
               (4)  fails to attend a scheduled interview. 
         SECTION 3.  Section 208.021(b), Labor Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  For each valid initial claim, the commission shall
  determine:
               (1)  the claimant's identity;
               (2)  the claimant's benefit year;
               (3) [(2)]  the benefit amount for total unemployment;
  and
               (4) [(3)]  the duration of benefits.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 208, Labor Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 208.0211 and 208.0212 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 208.0211.  DETERMINATION OF CLAIM VALIDITY. (a) In
  determining the validity of a claim under Section 208.021, the
  commission shall cross-check all new and recurring claims against:
               (1)  the integrity data hub operated by the National
  Association of State Workforce Agencies;
               (2)  the national directory of new hires maintained by
  the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement and a directory of
  new hires maintained by any other state;
               (3)  death records maintained by this state;
               (4)  records of persons who are incarcerated maintained
  by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau
  of Prisons; and
               (5)  the multifactor authentication mechanism
  established under Subsection (b). 
         (b)  For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under
  this section, the commission shall establish a multifactor
  authentication mechanism to verify the identity of a claimant who
  files a claim with the commission using the commission's Internet
  website. The multifactor authentication mechanism must verify at
  least two forms of identification submitted by the claimant. 
         (c)  The commission shall perform an additional cross-check
  and identity determination in the manner described by Subsections
  (a) and (b), as applicable, for each claim in which more than one
  claim is filed:
               (1)  using the commission's Internet website and
  originating from the same Internet protocol address;
               (2)  by mail using the same mailing address; or 
               (3)  in association with the same bank account.
         (d)  The commission shall enter into a data-sharing
  agreement with each state agency that administers a social welfare
  program. The data-sharing agreement must provide that the state
  agency notify the commission if a person enrolled in a social
  welfare program administered by the agency becomes employed. For
  purposes of this subsection, "state agency" means a board,
  commission, department, or other agency in the executive branch of
  state government. 
         (e)  On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid
  claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits
  immediately. 
         Sec. 208.0212.  ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than March 1 of
  each year, the commission shall submit a report to the legislature
  relating to the validity of claims submitted to the commission
  under this chapter. The report must include:
               (1)  the percentage of claims for benefits for which
  the commission was unable to perform a cross-check, as required by
  Section 208.0211, before paying or continuing to pay benefits under
  this subtitle during the preceding calendar year;
               (2)  the total amount of benefits paid to claimants who
  the commission later found made false statements in their claims
  for those benefits during the preceding calendar year;
               (3)  the number of invalid claims that the commission
  determined were invalid by conducting a cross-check required by
  Section 208.0211 and the estimated dollar amount of savings to this
  state, determined by the commission based on:
                     (A)  the number of claims the commission
  determined were invalid under this subdivision;
                     (B)  the average number of weeks each claimant
  received benefits under this subtitle; and
                     (C)  the average weekly benefit amount
  distributed to each claimant under this subtitle; and
               (4)  for the total amount of benefits paid for invalid
  claims during the preceding calendar year, a list of at least four
  of the primary reasons why the commission was not able to recover
  those benefit payments.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  If, by wilful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a
  material fact, whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation is
  made by the person or for the person by another, a person receives a
  benefit when a condition imposed by this subtitle for the person's
  qualifying for the benefit is not fulfilled or the person is
  disqualified from receiving the benefit:
               (1)  the person forfeits the:
                     (A)  benefit received; [and]
                     (B)  rights to benefits that remain in the benefit
  year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; and 
                     (C)  rights to any benefits under this subtitle
  until the earlier of:
                           (i)  the end of the fifth calendar year
  following the last day of the benefit year in which the
  nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; or
                           (ii)  the date that the commission recovered
  from the claimant any benefits received by wilful nondisclosure or
  misrepresentation of a material fact and any penalty imposed under
  this section; and
               (2)  the commission shall require the person to pay a
  penalty in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount forfeited
  under Subdivision (1)(A).
         (b)  If a person attempts to obtain or increase benefits by a
  nondisclosure or misrepresentation as provided by Subsection (a),
  the commission shall [may] cancel the person's right to benefits
  that remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
  misrepresentation occurred and the person shall forfeit rights to
  any benefit under this subtitle until the end of the fifth calendar
  year following the last day of the benefit year in which the
  attempted nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred.
         SECTION 6.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a claim for unemployment compensation benefits 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 7.  This Act takes effect October 1, 2023.