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Missouri Senate Bill SB8

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB8 Compare Versions

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22 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
33 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
44 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
55 SENATE BILL NO. 8
66 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
77 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BERNSKOETTER.
88 0567S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
99 AN ACT
1010 To repeal section 288.060 as enacted by house bill no. 150, ninety-eighth general assembly, first
1111 regular session, and section 288.060 as enacted by house bill no. 163, ninety-sixth
1212 general assembly, first regular session, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section
1313 relating to the duration of unemployment benefits.
1414
1515 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1616 Section A. Section 288.060 as enacted by house bill no. 1
1717 150, ninety-eighth general assembly, first regular session, and 2
1818 section 288.060 as enacted by house bill no. 163, ninety -sixth 3
1919 general assembly, first regular session , are repealed and one 4
2020 new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 5
2121 288.060, to read as follows:6
2222 [288.060. 1. All benefits shall be paid 1
2323 through employment offices in accordance with 2
2424 such regulations as the division may prescribe. 3
2525 2. Each eligible insured worker who is 4
2626 totally unemployed in any week shall be paid for 5
2727 such week a sum equal to his or her weekly 6
2828 benefit amount. 7
2929 3. Each eligible insured worker who is 8
3030 partially unemployed in any week shall be paid 9
3131 for such week a partial benefit. Such partial 10
3232 benefit shall be an amount equal to the 11
3333 difference between his or her weekly benefit 12
3434 amount and that part of his or her wages for 13
3535 such week in excess of twenty dollars, and, if 14
3636 such partial benefit amount is no t a multiple of 15
3737 one dollar, such amount shall be reduced to the 16
3838 nearest lower full dollar amount. For calendar 17 SB 8 2
3939 year 2007 and each year thereafter, such partial 18
4040 benefit shall be an amount equal to the 19
4141 difference between his or her weekly benefit 20
4242 amount and that part of his or her wages for 21
4343 such week in excess of twenty dollars or twenty 22
4444 percent of his or her weekly benefit amount, 23
4545 whichever is greater, and, if such partial 24
4646 benefit amount is not a multiple of one dollar, 25
4747 such amount shall be reduc ed to the nearest 26
4848 lower full dollar amount. Pay received by an 27
4949 eligible insured worker who is a member of the 28
5050 organized militia for training or duty 29
5151 authorized by Section 502(a)(1) of Title 32, 30
5252 United States Code, shall not be considered 31
5353 wages for the purpose of this subsection. 32
5454 4. The division shall compute the wage 33
5555 credits for each individual by crediting him or 34
5656 her with the wages paid to him or her for 35
5757 insured work during each quarter of his or her 36
5858 base period or twenty -six times his or her 37
5959 weekly benefit amount, whichever is the lesser. 38
6060 In addition, if a claimant receives wages in the 39
6161 form of termination pay or severance pay and 40
6262 such payment appears in a base period 41
6363 established by the filing of an initial claim, 42
6464 the claimant may, at his or her option, choose 43
6565 to have such payment included in the calendar 44
6666 quarter in which it was paid or choose to have 45
6767 it prorated equally among the quarters 46
6868 comprising the base period of the claim. For 47
6969 the purpose of this section, wages shall be 48
7070 counted as wage credits for any benefit year, 49
7171 only if such benefit year begins subsequent to 50
7272 the date on which the employing unit by whom 51
7373 such wages were paid has become an employer. 52
7474 The wage credits of an individual earned during 53
7575 the period commencing with the end of a prior 54
7676 base period and ending on the date on which he 55
7777 or she filed an allowed initial claim shall not 56
7878 be available for benefit purposes in a 57
7979 subsequent benefit year unless, in addition 58
8080 thereto, such individual has subsequently ear ned 59
8181 either wages for insured work in an amount equal 60
8282 to at least five times his or her current weekly 61 SB 8 3
8383 benefit amount or wages in an amount equal to at 62
8484 least ten times his or her current weekly 63
8585 benefit amount. 64
8686 5. The duration of benefits payable to any 65
8787 insured worker during any benefit year shall be 66
8888 limited to: 67
8989 (1) Twenty weeks if the Missouri average 68
9090 unemployment rate is nine percent or higher; 69
9191 (2) Nineteen weeks if the Missouri average 70
9292 unemployment rate is between eight and one -half 71
9393 percent and nine percent; 72
9494 (3) Eighteen weeks if the Missouri average 73
9595 unemployment rate is eight percent up to and 74
9696 including eight and one -half percent; 75
9797 (4) Seventeen weeks if the Missouri 76
9898 average unemployment rate is between seven and 77
9999 one-half percent and eight percent; 78
100100 (5) Sixteen weeks if the Missouri average 79
101101 unemployment rate is seven percent up to and 80
102102 including seven and one -half percent; 81
103103 (6) Fifteen weeks if the Missouri average 82
104104 unemployment rate is between six and o ne-half 83
105105 percent and seven percent; 84
106106 (7) Fourteen weeks if the Missouri average 85
107107 unemployment rate is six percent up to and 86
108108 including six and one -half percent; 87
109109 (8) Thirteen weeks if the Missouri average 88
110110 unemployment rate is below six percent. 89
111111 As used in this subsection, the phrase "Missouri 90
112112 average unemployment rate" means the average of 91
113113 the seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment 92
114114 rates as published by the United States 93
115115 Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 94
116116 for the time periods of January first through 95
117117 March thirty-first and July first through 96
118118 September thirtieth. The average of the 97
119119 seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rates 98
120120 for the time period of January first through 99
121121 March thirty-first shall be effective on and 100
122122 after July first of each year and shall be 101
123123 effective through December thirty -first. The 102
124124 average of the seasonally adjusted statewide 103
125125 unemployment rates for the time period of July 104
126126 first through September thirtieth shall be 105 SB 8 4
127127 effective on and after Ja nuary first of each 106
128128 year and shall be effective through June 107
129129 thirtieth; and 108
130130 (9) The provisions of this subsection 109
131131 shall become effective January 1, 2016. 110
132132 6. In the event that benefits are due a 111
133133 deceased person and no petition has been filed 112
134134 for the probate of the will or for the 113
135135 administration of the estate of such person 114
136136 within thirty days after his or her death, the 115
137137 division may by regulation provide for the 116
138138 payment of such benefits to such person or 117
139139 persons as the division finds ent itled thereto 118
140140 and every such payment shall be a valid payment 119
141141 to the same extent as if made to the legal 120
142142 representatives of the deceased. 121
143143 7. The division is authorized to cancel 122
144144 any benefit warrant remaining outstanding and 123
145145 unpaid one year after the date of its issuance 124
146146 and there shall be no liability for the payment 125
147147 of any such benefit warrant thereafter. 126
148148 8. The division may establish an 127
149149 electronic funds transfer system to transfer 128
150150 directly to claimants' accounts in financial 129
151151 institutions benefits payable to them pursuant 130
152152 to this chapter. To receive benefits by 131
153153 electronic funds transfer, a claimant shall 132
154154 satisfactorily complete a direct deposit 133
155155 application form authorizing the division to 134
156156 deposit benefit payments into a designate d 135
157157 checking or savings account. Any electronic 136
158158 funds transfer system created pursuant to this 137
159159 subsection shall be administered in accordance 138
160160 with regulations prescribed by the division. 139
161161 9. The division may issue a benefit 140
162162 warrant covering more t han one week of benefits. 141
163163 10. Prior to January 1, 2005, the division 142
164164 shall institute procedures including, but not 143
165165 limited to, name, date of birth, and Social 144
166166 Security verification matches for remote claims 145
167167 filing via the use of telephone or the internet 146
168168 in accordance with such regulations as the 147
169169 division shall prescribe. At a minimum, the 148
170170 division shall verify the Social Security number 149 SB 8 5
171171 and date of birth when an individual claimant 150
172172 initially files for unemployment insurance 151
173173 benefits. If verification information does not 152
174174 match what is on file in division databases to 153
175175 what the individual is stating, the division 154
176176 shall require the claimant to submit a division - 155
177177 approved form requesting an affidavit of 156
178178 eligibility prior to the payment of a dditional 157
179179 future benefits. The division of employment 158
180180 security shall cross -check unemployment 159
181181 compensation applicants and recipients with 160
182182 Social Security Administration data maintained 161
183183 by the federal government at least weekly. The 162
184184 division of employment security shall cross - 163
185185 check at least monthly unemployment compensation 164
186186 applicants and recipients with department of 165
187187 revenue drivers license databases. ] 166
188188 288.060. 1. All benefits shall be paid through 1
189189 employment offices in acco rdance with such regulations as 2
190190 the division may prescribe. 3
191191 2. Each eligible insured worker who is totally 4
192192 unemployed in any week shall be paid for such week a sum 5
193193 equal to his or her weekly benefit amount. 6
194194 3. Each eligible insured worker wh o is partially 7
195195 unemployed in any week shall be paid for such week a partial 8
196196 benefit. Such partial benefit shall be an amount equal to 9
197197 the difference between his or her weekly benefit amount and 10
198198 that part of his or her wages for such week in excess of 11
199199 twenty dollars, and, if such partial benefit amount is not a 12
200200 multiple of one dollar, such amount shall be reduced to the 13
201201 nearest lower full dollar amount. For calendar year 2007 14
202202 and each year thereafter, such partial benefit shall be an 15
203203 amount equal to the difference between his or her weekly 16
204204 benefit amount and that part of his or her wages for such 17
205205 week in excess of twenty dollars or twenty percent of his or 18
206206 her weekly benefit amount, whichever is greater, and, if 19 SB 8 6
207207 such partial benefit amount is n ot a multiple of one dollar, 20
208208 such amount shall be reduced to the nearest lower full 21
209209 dollar amount. Termination pay, severance pay, or Pay 22
210210 received by an eligible insured worker who is a member of 23
211211 the organized militia for training or duty authorized b y 24
212212 Section 502(a)(1) of Title 32, United States Code, shall not 25
213213 be considered wages for the purpose of this subsection. 26
214214 4. The division shall compute the wage credits for 27
215215 each individual by crediting him or her with the wages paid 28
216216 to him or her for insured work during each quarter of his or 29
217217 her base period or twenty -six times his or her weekly 30
218218 benefit amount, whichever is the lesser. In addition, if a 31
219219 claimant receives wages in the form of termination pay or 32
220220 severance pay and such payment appe ars in a base period 33
221221 established by the filing of an initial claim, the claimant 34
222222 may, at his or her option, choose to have such payment 35
223223 included in the calendar quarter in which it was paid or 36
224224 choose to have it prorated equally among the quarters 37
225225 comprising the base period of the claim. The maximum total 38
226226 amount of benefits payable to any insured worker during any 39
227227 benefit year shall not exceed twenty times his or her weekly 40
228228 benefit amount, or thirty -three and one-third percent of his 41
229229 or her wage credits, whichever is the lesser. For the 42
230230 purpose of this section, wages shall be counted as wage 43
231231 credits for any benefit year, only if such benefit year 44
232232 begins subsequent to the date on which the employing unit by 45
233233 whom such wages were paid has become a n employer. The wage 46
234234 credits of an individual earned during the period commencing 47
235235 with the end of a prior base period and ending on the date 48
236236 on which he or she filed an allowed initial claim shall not 49
237237 be available for benefit purposes in a subsequent benefit 50
238238 year unless, in addition thereto, such individual has 51 SB 8 7
239239 subsequently earned either wages for insured work in an 52
240240 amount equal to at least five times his or her current 53
241241 weekly benefit amount or wages in an amount equal to at 54
242242 least ten times his or her current weekly benefit amount. 55
243243 5. (1) The duration of benefits payable to any 56
244244 insured worker during any benefit year shall be limited to: 57
245245 (a) Twenty weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 58
246246 higher than nine percent; 59
247247 (b) Nineteen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate 60
248248 is higher than eight and one -half percent but no higher than 61
249249 nine percent; 62
250250 (c) Eighteen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate 63
251251 is higher than eight percent but no higher than eight and 64
252252 one-half percent; 65
253253 (d) Seventeen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate 66
254254 is higher than seven and one -half percent but no higher than 67
255255 eight percent; 68
256256 (e) Sixteen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 69
257257 higher than seven percent but no higher than seven and on e- 70
258258 half percent; 71
259259 (f) Fifteen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 72
260260 higher than six and one -half percent but no higher than 73
261261 seven percent; 74
262262 (g) Fourteen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate 75
263263 is higher than six percent but no higher than six and one- 76
264264 half percent; 77
265265 (h) Thirteen weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate 78
266266 is higher than five and one -half percent but no higher than 79
267267 six percent; 80
268268 (i) Twelve weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 81
269269 higher than five percent but no h igher than five and one - 82
270270 half percent; 83 SB 8 8
271271 (j) Eleven weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 84
272272 higher than four and one -half percent but no higher than 85
273273 five percent; 86
274274 (k) Ten weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 87
275275 higher than four percent b ut no higher than four and one - 88
276276 half percent; 89
277277 (l) Nine weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 90
278278 higher than three and one -half percent but no higher than 91
279279 four percent; and 92
280280 (m) Eight weeks if the Missouri unemployment rate is 93
281281 at or below three and one-half percent. 94
282282 (2) As used in this subsection, the phrase "Missouri 95
283283 unemployment rate" means the statewide unemployment rate as 96
284284 published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau 97
285285 of Labor Statistics, on the date that the claiman t initially 98
286286 files a claim for benefits. 99
287287 (3) The provisions of this subsection shall become 100
288288 effective January 1, 2026. 101
289289 6. In the event that benefits are due a deceased 102
290290 person and no petition has been filed for the probate of the 103
291291 will or for the administration of the estate of such person 104
292292 within thirty days after his or her death, the division may 105
293293 by regulation provide for the payment of such benefits to 106
294294 such person or persons as the division finds entitled 107
295295 thereto and every such payment s hall be a valid payment to 108
296296 the same extent as if made to the legal representatives of 109
297297 the deceased. 110
298298 [6.] 7. The division is authorized to cancel any 111
299299 benefit warrant remaining outstanding and unpaid one year 112
300300 after the date of its issuance and there shall be no 113
301301 liability for the payment of any such benefit warrant 114
302302 thereafter. 115 SB 8 9
303303 [7.] 8. The division may establish an electronic funds 116
304304 transfer system to transfer directly to claimants' accounts 117
305305 in financial institutions benefits payable to them pursuant 118
306306 to this chapter. To receive benefits by electronic funds 119
307307 transfer, a claimant shall satisfactorily complete a direct 120
308308 deposit application form authorizing the division to deposit 121
309309 benefit payments into a designated checking or savings 122
310310 account. Any electronic funds transfer system created 123
311311 pursuant to this subsection shall be administered in 124
312312 accordance with regulations prescribed by the division. 125
313313 [8.] 9. The division may issue a benefit warrant 126
314314 covering more than one week of benefits. 127
315315 [9.] 10. Prior to January 1, 2005, the division shall 128
316316 institute procedures including, but not limited to, name, 129
317317 date of birth, and Social Security verification matches for 130
318318 remote claims filing via the use of telephone or the 131
319319 internet in accordance with such regulations as the division 132
320320 shall prescribe. At a minimum, the division shall verify 133
321321 the Social Security number and date of birth when an 134
322322 individual claimant initially files for unemployment 135
323323 insurance benefits. If verification information does not 136
324324 match what is on file in division databases to what the 137
325325 individual is stating, the division shall require the 138
326326 claimant to submit a division -approved form requesting an 139
327327 affidavit of eligibility prior to the payment of additional 140
328328 future benefits. The division of employment security shall 141
329329 cross-check unemployment compensation applicants and 142
330330 recipients with Social Security Administration data 143
331331 maintained by the federal government at least weekly. The 144
332332 division of employment security shall cros s-check at least 145
333333 monthly unemployment compensation applicants and recipients 146
334334 with department of revenue drivers license databases. 147 SB 8 10
335335 11. The division shall promulgate rules and 148
336336 regulations to administer this section. Any rule or portion 149
337337 of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that 150
338338 is created under the authority delegated in this section 151
339339 shall become effective only if it complies with and is 152
340340 subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if 153
341341 applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 154
342342 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the 155
343343 general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay 156
344344 the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are 157
345345 subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of 158
346346 rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after 159
347347 August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void. 160
348348