SLS 202ES-63 ORIGINAL
2020 Second Extraordinary Session
SENATE BILL NO. 55
BY SENATORS CORTEZ AND REESE
UNEMPLOYMENT COMP. Provides for the unemployment insurance procedure to be
applied by the administrator for calendar year 2021. (gov sig) (Items #8 and #30)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 23:1541(D) and 1553(B)(8) and (10) and to enact R.S.
3 23:1474(J), relative to unemployment insurance; to provide for taxes and benefits for
4 calendar year 2021; to provide relative to the social charge account; and to provide
5 for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 23:1541(D) and 1553(B)(8) and (10) are hereby amended and
8 reenacted and R.S. 23:1474(J) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 §1474. Administrator; Revenue Estimating Conference; "wages"; weekly benefit
10 amounts
11 * * *
12 J. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or any other law
13 to the contrary, the administrator shall apply Procedure 2 from the table in
14 Subsection I of this Section for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2021,
15 for the maximum dollar amount of "wages", maximum weekly benefit amount,
16 with any applicable discounts under R.S. 23:1592, and the formula for
17 computation of benefits.
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1 * * *
2 §1541. Notice of benefits charged against employer's experience rating record;
3 employer's right to contest; application for review; procedure
4 * * *
5 D.(1) The administrator shall establish by October fourteenth of each year the
6 amount to be collected for the Incumbent Worker Training Account pursuant to R.S.
7 23:1553(B)(6)(7) through (9)(10).
8 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection
9 to the contrary, for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2021, the
10 administrator shall not establish any amount to be collected for the Incumbent
11 Worker Training Account.
12 * * *
13 §1553. Noncharging of benefits; recoupment; social charge account; social charge
14 tax rate
15 * * *
16 B.
17 * * *
18 (8)(a) Amounts not to exceed twenty million dollars to be credited to the
19 Incumbent Worker Training Account to fund the Incumbent Worker Training
20 Program as provided under R.S. 23:1514 shall be charged to this account only in any
21 calendar year in which the applied trust fund balance range as defined in R.S.
22 23:1474 is equal to or greater than seven hundred fifty million dollars, but less than
23 one billion two hundred fifty million dollars and only in the amount necessary to
24 bring the balance of unobligated funds in such subaccount to twenty million dollars.
25 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this
26 Paragraph, no amount shall be charged to this account for the purposes of
27 funding the Incumbent Worker Training Program as provided under R.S.
28 23:1514 for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2021.
29 * * *
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SLS 202ES-63 ORIGINAL
1 (10)(a) Amounts not to exceed thirty-five million dollars to be credited to the
2 Incumbent Worker Training Account to fund the Incumbent Worker Training
3 Program as provided under R.S. 23:1514 shall be charged to this account only in any
4 calendar year in which the applied trust fund balance range as defined in R.S.
5 23:1474 is equal to or greater than one billion two hundred fifty million dollars and
6 only in the amount necessary to bring the balance of unobligated funds in such
7 subaccount to thirty-five million dollars.
8 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this
9 Paragraph, no amount shall be charged to this account for the purpose of
10 funding the Incumbent Worker Training Program as provided under R.S.
11 23:1514 for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2021.
12 * * *
13 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
14 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
15 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
16 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
17 effective on the day following such approval.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Dawn Romero Watson.
DIGEST
SB 55 Original 2020 Second Extraordinary Session Cortez
Present law provides for unemployment compensation as a joint federal-state program with
administrative expenses financed by federal payroll taxes under the Federal Unemployment
Tax Act (FUTA) and the cost of benefits financed by state payroll taxes under State
Unemployment Tax Acts (SUTA). Provides that revenues collected through Louisiana's
SUTA are deposited into an account for Louisiana within the federal Unemployment Trust
Fund. The account is referenced in present law as the state's unemployment trust fund and
is dedicated to the payment of unemployment benefits for Louisiana's unemployed workers.
Present law provides a chart that establishes four different procedures based on trust fund
balance ranges to determine:
(1)The maximum dollar amount of wages (or "taxable wage base") paid to an employee
in a calendar year upon which the Louisiana employer will be liable for SUTA taxes.
(2)The maximum weekly benefit amount a qualified unemployed Louisiana worker may
receive in unemployment benefits.
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(3)The formula for calculating unemployment benefits for a qualified unemployed
worker based upon that worker's past wages.
Present law provides that as the unemployment trust fund balance increases, employers taxes
decrease and unemployed worker benefits increase, and as the trust fund balance decreases,
employer taxes increase and unemployed worker benefits decrease. Specifically, the present
law chart provides:
(1)Procedure 1 (applicable when the unemployment trust fund balance range is less than
$750,000,000) provides that the taxable wage base shall be $8,500 and the maximum
weekly benefit amount shall be $221.
(2)Procedure 2 (applicable when the unemployment trust fund balance range is at least
$750,000,000 but less than $1,150,000,000) provides that the taxable wage base shall
be $7,700 and the maximum weekly benefit amount shall be $247.
(3)Procedure 3 (applicable when the unemployment trust fund balance range is at least
$1,150,000,000 but less than $1,400,000,000) provides that the taxable wage base
shall be $7,000 and the maximum weekly benefit amount shall be $258.
(4)Procedure 4 (applicable when the unemployment trust fund balance range is greater
than $1,400,000,000) provides that the taxable wage base shall be $7,000 and the
maximum weekly benefit amount shall be $284.
Present law provides that the Procedure to be use for the following calendar year to be based
on the applicable fund balance range. Requires that each September, the Revenue Estimating
Conference meet to adopt its official projection of the state's unemployment trust fund
balance for September 1st of the next calendar year and report such to the secretary of the
Louisiana Workforce Commission. Present law then requires the secretary, using the lower
amount of the actual balance in Louisiana Unemployment Trust Fund account on September
1st and the amount of the balance in Louisiana Unemployment Trust Fund projected by the
Revenue Estimating Conference for the following September 1st and apply the Procedure
associated with the appropriate balance range in the present law chart to set the taxable wage
base, the maximum weekly benefit and formula for calculating benefits for the next calendar
year.
Proposed law provides that notwithstanding any other provision of present law, the secretary
of the Louisiana Workforce Commission shall apply Procedure 2 for calendar year 2021.
Present law (R.S. 23:1514) creates a job training program called the Incumbent Worker
Training Program (IWTP) administered by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Present law provides for IWTP to receive funding as part of a social charge tax (which is a
component of an employer's SUTA tax) in years in which Procedures 2, 3, and 4 are applied.
Provides that in years in which the applied trust fund balance range exceeds $750,000,000
but is less than $1,250,000,000, the appropriation for IWTP shall be up to $20,000,000.
Provides that in years in which the applied trust fund balance range is equal to or exceeds
$1,250,000,000, the appropriation for IWTP shall be up to $35,000,000. Present law requires
the secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission to make the determination of the
amount the IWTP is to be funded by the October 14th prior to the calendar year in which it
will be collected.
Proposed law provides that notwithstanding present law, no amount shall be appropriated
through the social charge account and thereby included in the social charge tax for the
calendar year beginning on January 1, 2021.
Effective upon signature of the governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
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SLS 202ES-63 ORIGINAL
(Amends R.S. 23:1541(D) and 1553(B)(8) and (10); enacts R.S. 23:1474(J))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.