LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 7172 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 1, 2021
BILL NUMBER: SB 237 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Unemployment Insurance Overpayments.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Lanane BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED: GENERAL IMPACT: State
X DEDICATED
X FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill requires the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to waive
repayment of unemployment benefit overpayments made: (1) during the pendency of an appeal under which
the individual is determined to be ineligible for benefits; or (2) because of an error by the DWD.
It waives liability for repayment of unemployment benefits that were paid after July 1, 2011, to an individual
who was not entitled to receive the benefits solely because of changes to the unemployment insurance law
made by HEA 1450-2011 (P.L.2-2011).
Effective Date: January 1, 2020 (retroactive).
Explanation of State Expenditures: DWD: The bill may impact workload for DWD to make administrative
changes regarding the collection of overpayments of unemployment benefits in certain circumstances. The
administrative costs of the unemployment compensation system are paid by federal funds.
Explanation of State Revenues: Unemployment Insurance Benefit Fund: The bill would reduce repayments
of unemployment benefits to the Unemployment Insurance Benefit Fund. The bill requires DWD to waive
repayment of unemployment benefits paid to claimants that were paid as a result of error solely on the part
of DWD, claimants who received benefit payment in error while their appeal for benefits was pending, or
claimants that received benefits, who were ultimately not entitled to them solely due to HEA 1450-2011.
Total nonfraud overpayments for unemployment benefits were $26.8 M for CY 2020 (through September
30). Of those overpayments, $719,868 was due to agency error in CY 2020 (through September 30).
According to the bill, DWD is prohibited from collecting these overpayments from claimants.
SB 237 1
The amount of benefits paid to individuals that were not entitled to receive benefits solely due to changes
from HEA 1450-2011 (P.L.2-2011) is unknown at this time.
Additional Information - HEA 1450-2011 eliminated eligibility for unemployment insurance compensation
for individuals employed by a Head Start or an Early Head Start program between academic years, on-call
employees, employees on a regularly scheduled vacation, and those workers who received severance pay
and/or a voluntary buyout.
Explanation of Local Expenditures:
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Department of Workforce Development.
Local Agencies Affected:
Information Sources: ETA 227: Overpayment Detection and Recovery Activities from “Data Downloads.”
U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration,
https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/DataDownloads.asp. Accessed Jan 1, 2021.
Fiscal Analyst: Camille Tesch, 317-232-5293.
SB 237 2


Statutes affected:
1. Introduced Senate Bill (S): 22-4-13-1