Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2458 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R23780 RDS-F
2	2	By: Vo H.B. No. 2458
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2458:
4	4	By: Hinojosa C.S.H.B. No. 2458
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to claimant eligibility and initial claims under the
10	10	unemployment compensation system.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed
15	15	individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if
16	16	the individual:
17	17	(1) has registered for work at an employment office
18	18	and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
19	19	rules adopted by the commission;
20	20	(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section
21	21	208.001;
22	22	(3) is able to work;
23	23	(4) is available for work;
24	24	(5) is actively seeking work in accordance with rules
25	25	adopted by the commission;
26	26	(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
27	27	credits:
28	28	(A) in at least two calendar quarters; and
29	29	(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the
30	30	individual's benefit amount;
31	31	(7) after the beginning date of the individual's most
32	32	recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
33	33	equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;
34	34	(8) has been totally or partially unemployed for a
35	35	waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; [and]
36	36	(9) participates in reemployment services, such as a
37	37	job search assistance service, if the individual has been
38	38	determined, according to a profiling system established by the
39	39	commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
40	40	benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
41	41	unless:
42	42	(A) the individual has completed participation
43	43	in such a service; or
44	44	(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
45	45	the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
46	46	those services; and
47	47	(10) has satisfied any outstanding obligation in
48	48	relation to benefits forfeited by the individual under Section
49	49	214.003, including the amount of any penalty assessed against the
50	50	individual under that section, but only if the benefit period for
51	51	which the individual is seeking benefits is not in the same benefit
52	52	year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a material
53	53	fact occurred.
54	54	SECTION 2. Section 208.002(a), Labor Code, is amended to
55	55	read as follows:
56	56	(a) When used in connection with an initial claim, "last
57	57	work" and "person for whom the claimant last worked" refer to [:
58	58	[(1) the last person for whom the claimant actually
59	59	worked, if the claimant worked for that person for at least 30 hours
60	60	during a week; or
61	61	[(2)] the employer, as defined by Subchapter C,
62	62	Chapter 201, [or by the unemployment law of any other state,] for
63	63	whom the claimant last worked.
64	64	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
65	65	a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the Texas
66	66	Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A
67	67	claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
68	68	law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is
69	69	continued in effect for that purpose.
70	70	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.