Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4424 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1		By: DeAyala H.B. No. 4424
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4	6		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	7		AN ACT
6	8		relating to promoting re-employment and deterring fraud and abuse
7	9		in the Texas unemployment benefits program.
8	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	11		SECTION 1. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to
10	12		read as follows:
11	13		(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed
12	14		individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if
13	15		the individual:
14	16		(1) has registered for work at an employment office
15	17		and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
16	18		rules adopted by the commission;
17	19		(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section
18	20		208.001;
19	21		(3) is able to work;
20	22		(4) is available for work;
21	23		(5) is actively seeking work in accordance with rules
22	24		adopted by the commission:
23	25		(A) is actively seeking work; and
24	26		(B) during each week of the benefit period,
25	27		performed at least five work search activities. Acceptable work
26	28		search activities include:
27	29		(i) completing and submitting an
28	30		application for a job;
29	31		(ii) submitted a resume to an employer that
30	32		advertised a job opening;
31	33		(iii) attending a job fair;
32	34		(iv) participating in a job interview or
33	35		employer-facilitated skills test;
34	36		(v) participating in a job or skill
35	37		training program.
36	38		(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
37	39		credits:
38	40		(A) in at least threetwo calendar quarters; and
39	41		(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the
40	42		individual's benefit amount;
41	43		(7) after the beginning date of the individual's most
42	44		recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
43	45		equal to not less than 37six times the individual's benefit amount;
44	46		(8) has been totally or partially unemployed for a
45	47		waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and
46	48		(9) participates in reemployment services, such as a
47	49		job search assistance service, if the individual has been
48	50		determined, according to a profiling system established by the
49	51		commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
50	52		benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
51	53		unless:
52	54		(A) the individual has completed participation
53	55		in such a service; or
54	56		(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
55	57		the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
56	58		those services.
57	59		(10) A local workforce development board may require
58	60		more than five work search actions per week in any county served by
59	61		the board, but a board may not require fewer than five work search
60	62		actions per week.
61	63		SECTION 2. Section 207.047, Labor Code, is amended by
62	64		amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
63	65		follows:
64	66		(a) An individual is disqualified for benefits if during the
65	67		individual's current benefit year, the individual failed, without
66	68		good cause, to:
67	69		(1) apply for available, suitable work when directed
68	70		to do so by the commission;
69	71		(2) accept suitable work offered to the individual; or
70	72		(3) return to the individual's customary
71	73		self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the commission;
72	74		or
73	75		(4) respond to an employer's request for an interview
74	76		or to attend a scheduled interview for suitable work.
75	77		SECTION 3. Section 208.021(b), Labor Code, is amended to
76	78		read as follows:
77	79		(b) For each valid initial claim, the commission shall
78	80		determine:
79	81		(1) the claimant's identity;
80	82		(2) the claimant's benefit year;
81	83		(3) (2) the benefit amount for total unemployment; and
82	84		(4) (3) the duration of benefits.
83	85		SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 208, Labor Code, is
84	86		amended by adding Sections 208.0211 and 208.0212 to read as
85	87		follows:
86	88		Sec. 208.0211 DETERMINATION OF CLAIM VALIDITY.
87	89		(a) In determining the validity of a claim under Section
88	90		208.021, the commission shall cross-check all claims for benefits
89	91		against:
90	92		(1) the integrity data hub operated by the National
91	93		Association of State Workforce Agencies;
92	94		(2) the national directory of new hires maintained by
93	95		the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement and any directory
94	96		of new hires maintained by the state of Texas;
95	97		(3) death records maintained by the state of Texas;
96	98		(4) records of persons who are incarcerated maintained
97	99		by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau
98	100		of Prisons;
99	101		(5) the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services'
100	102		SAVE database to determine immigration status and eligibility for
101	103		benefits.
102	104		(b) For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under
103	105		this section, the commission shall employ a mechanism that allows
104	106		verification, with a government-issued form of identification, the
105	107		real identity of any claimant for unemployment benefits.
106	108		(c) On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid
107	109		claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits
108	110		immediately.
109	111		(d) Nothing in this section shall limit the commission from
110	112		developing and implementing additional measures to protect the
111	113		integrity of the unemployment benefits program.
112	114		SECTION 5. Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
113	115		amended to read as follows:
114	116		(a) If, by willful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a
115	117		material fact, whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation is
116	118		made by the person or for the person by another, a person receives a
117	119		benefit when a condition imposed by this subtitle for the person's
118	120		qualifying for the benefit is not fulfilled or the person is
119	121		disqualified from receiving the benefit:
120	122		(1) the person forfeits the:
121	123		(A) benefit received; and
122	124		(B) rights to benefits that remain in the benefit
123	125		year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; and
124	126		(C) rights to any benefits under this subtitle
125	127		until the earlier of:
126	128		(i) the end of the first calendar year
127	129		following the last day of the benefit year in which the
128	130		nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred for the first
129	131		occurrence, the end of the third calendar year following the last
130	132		day of the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
131	133		misrepresentation occurred for the second occurrence, the end of
132	134		the fifth calendar year following the last day of the benefit year
133	135		in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred for the
134	136		third and all future occurrences;
135	137		(ii) the date that the commission recovered
136	138		from the claimant any benefits received by willful nondisclosure or
137	139		misrepresentation of a material fact and any penalty imposed under
138	140		this section; and
139	141		(2) the commission shall require the person to pay a
140	142		penalty in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount forfeited
141	143		under Subdivision (1)(A).
142	144		(b) If a person attempts to obtain or increase benefits by a
143	145		nondisclosure or misrepresentation as provided by Subsection (a),
144	146		the commission shallmay cancel the person's right to benefits that
145	147		remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
146	148		misrepresentation occurred for the first offense, the person's
147	149		right to any benefit under this subtitle for three years
148	150		immediately following the second offense, and for five years
149	151		immediately following the third and all future offenses.
150	152		SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
151	153		a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the Texas
152	154		Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A
153	155		claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
154	156		law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is
155	157		continued in effect for that purpose.
156	158		SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.