This bill proposes significant changes to the duration of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits based on the unemployment rate (UR) from the previous calendar quarter. Under the current law, individuals are entitled to 24 weeks of benefits if the UR is less than 5 percent and 26 weeks if it is 5 percent or more. The bill would amend this to provide a tiered structure where individuals could receive benefits for as few as 12 weeks if the UR is 5 percent or less, and up to 26 weeks if the UR exceeds 8 percent. The specific durations would be adjusted to include 14 weeks for UR between 5 and 5.5 percent, 16 weeks for UR between 5.5 and 6 percent, and so forth, with increments leading up to 26 weeks for UR above 8 percent.

The bill also includes several insertions that detail the new benefit durations corresponding to specific unemployment rates, effectively replacing the existing provisions that set a flat 24 or 26-week benefit period. The proposed changes aim to create a more responsive UI system that aligns benefit duration with economic conditions, thereby potentially reducing the duration of benefits during times of lower unemployment.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 23-780
House Engrossed Version: 23-780