89R5085 RDS-F
By: Creighton S.B. No. 1950
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for unemployment
benefits and the validity of certain claims for unemployment
benefits submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 207.021, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) 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:
(A) is actively seeking work; and
(B) during each week of the benefit period,
performed a combination of the following work search activities,
subject to verification by the commission:
(i) completed and submitted an application
for a job, other than an application submitted while attending a job
fair;
(ii) submitted a resume to an employer that
advertised an active job opening;
(iii) attended a job fair;
(iv) participated in a job interview or
skills test conducted by a potential employer;
(v) after submitting a resume or
application or participating in a job interview, responded to an
employer's inquiry; or
(vi) participated in a work search or
professional training sponsored or approved by the commission;
(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
credits:
(A) in at least three [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 37 [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 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:
(A) the individual has completed participation
in such a service; or
(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
those services.
(a-1) The commission by rule shall prescribe the minimum
number of work search activities an individual must perform under
Subsection (a)(5)(B) during each week. The rules may not require an
individual to perform fewer than five work search activities during
each week.
SECTION 2. Section 207.047(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An individual is disqualified for benefits if during the
individual's current benefit year, the individual failed, without
good cause, to:
(1) apply for available, suitable work when directed
to do so by the commission;
(2) accept suitable work offered to the individual;
[or]
(3) return to the individual's customary
self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the commission;
or
(4) respond to an employer's request for an interview
or to attend a scheduled interview.
SECTION 3. Section 208.021(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) For each valid initial claim, the commission shall
determine:
(1) the claimant's identity;
(2) the claimant's benefit year;
(3) [(2)] the benefit amount for total unemployment;
and
(4) [(3)] the duration of benefits.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 208, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 208.0211 to read as follows:
Sec. 208.0211. DETERMINATION OF CLAIM VALIDITY. (a) In
determining the validity of a claim under Section 208.021, the
commission shall cross-check all new and recurring claims against:
(1) the integrity data hub operated by the National
Association of State Workforce Agencies;
(2) the national directory of new hires maintained by
the federal Office of Child Support Services and a directory of new
hires maintained by any other state;
(3) death records maintained by this state;
(4) records of persons who are incarcerated maintained
by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau
of Prisons;
(5) the Systematic Alien Verification for
Entitlements (SAVE) program, or a successor program; and
(6) the authentication mechanism established under
Subsection (b).
(b) For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under
this section, the commission shall establish an authentication
mechanism to verify the identity of a claimant who files a claim
with the commission. The authentication mechanism must verify at
least one form of government-issued identification submitted by the
claimant.
(c) On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid
claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits
immediately.
(d) Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting
the commission from developing or implementing additional measures
to determine the validity of a claim under Section 208.021.
SECTION 5. Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) If, by wilful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a
material fact, whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation is
made by the person or for the person by another, a person receives a
benefit when a condition imposed by this subtitle for the person's
qualifying for the benefit is not fulfilled or the person is
disqualified from receiving the benefit:
(1) the person forfeits the:
(A) benefit received; [and]
(B) rights to benefits that remain in the benefit
year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; and
(C) rights to any benefits under this subtitle
until the earlier of:
(i) the end of the fifth calendar year
following the last day of the benefit year in which the
nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; or
(ii) the date that the commission recovered
from the claimant any benefits received by wilful nondisclosure or
misrepresentation of a material fact and any penalty imposed under
this section; and
(2) the commission shall require the person to pay a
penalty in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount forfeited
under Subdivision (1)(A).
(b) If a person attempts to obtain or increase benefits by a
nondisclosure or misrepresentation as provided by Subsection (a),
the commission shall [may] cancel the person's right to benefits
that remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
misrepresentation occurred and the person shall forfeit rights to
any benefit under this subtitle until the end of the fifth calendar
year following the last day of the benefit year in which the
attempted nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.