89R21373 KKR-F
By: Vo H.B. No. 3698
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3698:
By: Button C.S.H.B. No. 3698
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to participation in reemployment services as a condition
of eligibility for unemployment benefits.
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;
(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:
(A) 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:
(i) the commission has determined that
[(A)] the individual has completed participation in such a service;
or
(ii) [(B)] there is reasonable cause, as
determined by the commission, for the individual's failure to
participate in those services; or
(B) unless there is reasonable cause, as
determined by the commission, for the individual's failure to
participate in those services and regardless of the results of the
individual's assessment conducted under a profiling system
described by Paragraph (A), the commission has determined that the
individual's participation is in furtherance of the following
goals:
(i) reducing the duration of unemployment
compensation through improved employment outcomes;
(ii) strengthening the integrity of the
unemployment compensation program;
(iii) promoting alignment with the vision
of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. Section
3101 et seq.);
(iv) establishing the commission's
reemployment services and eligibility assessment program as an
entry point to other workforce system partner programs; and
(v) demonstrating the effectiveness of
reemployment services.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.