By: DeAyala H.B. No. 4424

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to promoting re-employment and deterring fraud and abuse in the Texas unemployment benefits program.

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 five work search activities. Acceptable work search activities include:

(i) completing and submitting an application for a job;

(ii) submitted a resume to an employer that advertised a job opening;

(iii) attending a job fair;

(iv) participating in a job interview or employer-facilitated skills test;

(v) participating in a job or skill training program.

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

(A) in at least threetwo 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 37six 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.

(10) A local workforce development board may require more than five work search actions per week in any county served by the board, but a board may not require fewer than five work search actions per week.

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 for suitable work.

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 claims for benefits 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 any directory of new hires maintained by the state of Texas;

(3) death records maintained by the state of Texas;

(4) records of persons who are incarcerated maintained by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons;

(5) the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' SAVE database to determine immigration status and eligibility for benefits.

(b) For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under this section, the commission shall employ a mechanism that allows verification, with a government-issued form of identification, the real identity of any claimant for unemployment benefits.

(c) On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits immediately.

(d) Nothing in this section shall limit the commission from developing and implementing additional measures to protect the integrity of the unemployment benefits program.

SECTION 5. Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) If, by willful 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 first calendar year following the last day of the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred for the first occurrence, the end of the third calendar year following the last day of the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred for the second occurrence, the end of the fifth calendar year following the last day of the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred for the third and all future occurrences;

(ii) the date that the commission recovered from the claimant any benefits received by willful 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 shallmay cancel the person's right to benefits that remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred for the first offense, the person's right to any benefit under this subtitle for three years immediately following the second offense, and for five years immediately following the third and all future offenses.

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 January 1, 2026.