87R1741 JSC-D
By: Rodriguez H.B. No. 145
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to removing the waiting period for unemployment benefit
eligibility.
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;
(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;
and
(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. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Sections 207.021(b) and (c), Labor Code; and
(2) Section 207.0212, Labor Code.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.