87(R) SB 2102 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	87R1741 JSC-D
	By:  Zaffirini	S.B.  No.  2102

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to removing the waiting period for unemployment benefit
	eligibility.
	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;
	and
	(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.
	SECTION  2.    The following provisions are repealed:
	(1)    Sections 207.021(b) and (c), Labor Code; and
	(2)    Section 207.0212, Labor Code.
	SECTION  3.    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  4.    This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.