Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1950 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5085 RDS-F
2	2	By: Creighton S.B. No. 1950
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for unemployment
10	10	benefits and the validity of certain claims for unemployment
11	11	benefits submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 207.021, Labor Code, is amended by
14	14	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
15	15	follows:
16	16	(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed
17	17	individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if
18	18	the individual:
19	19	(1) has registered for work at an employment office
20	20	and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
21	21	rules adopted by the commission;
22	22	(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section
23	23	208.001;
24	24	(3) is able to work;
25	25	(4) is available for work;
26	26	(5) [is actively seeking work] in accordance with
27	27	rules adopted by the commission:
28	28	(A) is actively seeking work; and
29	29	(B) during each week of the benefit period,
30	30	performed a combination of the following work search activities,
31	31	subject to verification by the commission:
32	32	(i) completed and submitted an application
33	33	for a job, other than an application submitted while attending a job
34	34	fair;
35	35	(ii) submitted a resume to an employer that
36	36	advertised an active job opening;
37	37	(iii) attended a job fair;
38	38	(iv) participated in a job interview or
39	39	skills test conducted by a potential employer;
40	40	(v) after submitting a resume or
41	41	application or participating in a job interview, responded to an
42	42	employer's inquiry; or
43	43	(vi) participated in a work search or
44	44	professional training sponsored or approved by the commission;
45	45	(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
46	46	credits:
47	47	(A) in at least three [two] calendar quarters;
48	48	and
49	49	(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the
50	50	individual's benefit amount;
51	51	(7) after the beginning date of the individual's most
52	52	recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
53	53	equal to not less than 37 [six] times the individual's benefit
54	54	amount;
55	55	(8) has been totally or partially unemployed for a
56	56	waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and
57	57	(9) participates in reemployment services, such as a
58	58	job search assistance service, if the individual has been
59	59	determined, according to a profiling system established by the
60	60	commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
61	61	benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
62	62	unless:
63	63	(A) the individual has completed participation
64	64	in such a service; or
65	65	(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
66	66	the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
67	67	those services.
68	68	(a-1) The commission by rule shall prescribe the minimum
69	69	number of work search activities an individual must perform under
70	70	Subsection (a)(5)(B) during each week. The rules may not require an
71	71	individual to perform fewer than five work search activities during
72	72	each week.
73	73	SECTION 2. Section 207.047(a), Labor Code, is amended to
74	74	read as follows:
75	75	(a) An individual is disqualified for benefits if during the
76	76	individual's current benefit year, the individual failed, without
77	77	good cause, to:
78	78	(1) apply for available, suitable work when directed
79	79	to do so by the commission;
80	80	(2) accept suitable work offered to the individual;
81	81	[or]
82	82	(3) return to the individual's customary
83	83	self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the commission;
84	84	or
85	85	(4) respond to an employer's request for an interview
86	86	or to attend a scheduled interview.
87	87	SECTION 3. Section 208.021(b), Labor Code, is amended to
88	88	read as follows:
89	89	(b) For each valid initial claim, the commission shall
90	90	determine:
91	91	(1) the claimant's identity;
92	92	(2) the claimant's benefit year;
93	93	(3) [(2)] the benefit amount for total unemployment;
94	94	and
95	95	(4) [(3)] the duration of benefits.
96	96	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 208, Labor Code, is
97	97	amended by adding Section 208.0211 to read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 208.0211. DETERMINATION OF CLAIM VALIDITY. (a) In
99	99	determining the validity of a claim under Section 208.021, the
100	100	commission shall cross-check all new and recurring claims against:
101	101	(1) the integrity data hub operated by the National
102	102	Association of State Workforce Agencies;
103	103	(2) the national directory of new hires maintained by
104	104	the federal Office of Child Support Services and a directory of new
105	105	hires maintained by any other state;
106	106	(3) death records maintained by this state;
107	107	(4) records of persons who are incarcerated maintained
108	108	by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau
109	109	of Prisons;
110	110	(5) the Systematic Alien Verification for
111	111	Entitlements (SAVE) program, or a successor program; and
112	112	(6) the authentication mechanism established under
113	113	Subsection (b).
114	114	(b) For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under
115	115	this section, the commission shall establish an authentication
116	116	mechanism to verify the identity of a claimant who files a claim
117	117	with the commission. The authentication mechanism must verify at
118	118	least one form of government-issued identification submitted by the
119	119	claimant.
120	120	(c) On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid
121	121	claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits
122	122	immediately.
123	123	(d) Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting
124	124	the commission from developing or implementing additional measures
125	125	to determine the validity of a claim under Section 208.021.
126	126	SECTION 5. Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
127	127	amended to read as follows:
128	128	(a) If, by wilful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a
129	129	material fact, whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation is
130	130	made by the person or for the person by another, a person receives a
131	131	benefit when a condition imposed by this subtitle for the person's
132	132	qualifying for the benefit is not fulfilled or the person is
133	133	disqualified from receiving the benefit:
134	134	(1) the person forfeits the:
135	135	(A) benefit received; [and]
136	136	(B) rights to benefits that remain in the benefit
137	137	year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; and
138	138	(C) rights to any benefits under this subtitle
139	139	until the earlier of:
140	140	(i) the end of the fifth calendar year
141	141	following the last day of the benefit year in which the
142	142	nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; or
143	143	(ii) the date that the commission recovered
144	144	from the claimant any benefits received by wilful nondisclosure or
145	145	misrepresentation of a material fact and any penalty imposed under
146	146	this section; and
147	147	(2) the commission shall require the person to pay a
148	148	penalty in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount forfeited
149	149	under Subdivision (1)(A).
150	150	(b) If a person attempts to obtain or increase benefits by a
151	151	nondisclosure or misrepresentation as provided by Subsection (a),
152	152	the commission shall [may] cancel the person's right to benefits
153	153	that remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
154	154	misrepresentation occurred and the person shall forfeit rights to
155	155	any benefit under this subtitle until the end of the fifth calendar
156	156	year following the last day of the benefit year in which the
157	157	attempted nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred.
158	158	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
159	159	a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the Texas
160	160	Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A
161	161	claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
162	162	law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is
163	163	continued in effect for that purpose.
164	164	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.