| 1 | 1 | | 88R19361 SCP-F |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Button H.B. No. 2586 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to participation in reemployment services as a condition |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | of eligibility for unemployment benefits. |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | (a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | the individual: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | (1) has registered for work at an employment office |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | and has continued to report to the employment office as required by |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | rules adopted by the commission; |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (2) has made a claim for benefits under Section |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | 208.001; |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (3) is able to work; |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | (4) is available for work; |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (5) is actively seeking work in accordance with rules |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | adopted by the commission; |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | credits: |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (A) in at least two calendar quarters; and |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (B) in an amount not less than 37 times the |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | individual's benefit amount; |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | (7) after the beginning date of the individual's most |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount; |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | (8) has been totally or partially unemployed for a |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | (9) if required by the commission, participates in |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | reemployment services, such as a job search assistance service[, if |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | the individual has been determined, according to a profiling system |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | established by the commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | for regular benefits and to need those services to obtain new |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | employment], unless[: |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | [(A) the individual has completed participation |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | in such a service; or |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | [(B)] there is reasonable cause, as determined by |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | those services. |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 2. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, as amended by |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | this Act, applies only to a claim for unemployment compensation |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | benefits that is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | after the effective date of this Act. A claim filed before the |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | date the claim was filed, and the former law is continued in effect |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | for that purpose. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|---|