Florida Senate - 2009 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for CS for SB 810 Barcode 460898 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . Floor: 3/RS/2R . 04/28/2009 11:28 AM . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Senator Garcia moved the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 278 - 390 4 and insert: 5 Section 4. Effective upon becoming a law, and retroactive 6 to February 1, 2009, and expiring January 2, 2009, section 7 443.1117, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 8 443.1117 -Temporary Extended Benefits 9 (1) APPLICABILITY OF EXTENDED BENEFITS STATUTE.—Except when 10 the result is inconsistent with the other provisions of this 11 section, the provisions of s. 443.1115(3), (4), (6), and (7) 12 apply to all claims covered by this section. 13 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section the term: 14 (a) “Regular benefits” and “extended benefits” have the 15 same meaning as in s. 443.1115. 16 (b) “Eligibility period” means the period consisting of the 17 weeks in an individual’s benefit year or emergency benefit 18 period which begin in an extended benefit period and, if the 19 benefit year or emergency benefit period ends within that 20 extended benefit period, any subsequent weeks beginning in that 21 period. 22 (c) “Emergency benefits” means Emergency Unemployment 23 Compensation paid pursuant to Pub. L. No. 110-252, Pub. L. No. 24 110-449, and Pub. L. No. 111-5. 25 (d) “Extended benefit period” means a period that: 26 1. Begins with the third week after a week for which there 27 is a state “on” indicator; and 28 2. Ends with any of the following weeks, whichever occurs 29 later: 30 a. The third week after the first week for which there is a 31 state “off” indicator; 32 b. The 13th consecutive week of that period. 33 34 However, an extended benefit period may not begin by reason of a 35 state “on” indicator before the 14th week after the end of a 36 prior extended benefit period that was in effect for this state. 37 (e) “Emergency benefit period” means the period during 38 which an individual receives emergency benefits as defined in 39 paragraph (c). 40 (f) “Exhaustee” means an individual who, for any week of 41 unemployment in her or his eligibility period: 42 1. Has received, before that week, all of the regular 43 benefits and emergency benefits, if any, available under this 44 chapter or any other law, including dependents’ allowances and 45 benefits payable to federal civilian employees and ex 46 servicemembers under 5 U.S.C. ss. 8501-8525, in the current 47 benefit year or emergency benefit period that includes that 48 week. For the purposes of this subparagraph, an individual has 49 received all of the regular benefits and emergency benefits, if 50 any, available although, as a result of a pending appeal for 51 wages paid for insured work which were not considered in the 52 original monetary determination in the benefit year, she or he 53 may subsequently be determined to be entitled to added regular 54 benefits; 55 2. Had a benefit year which expired before that week, and 56 was paid no, or insufficient, wages for insured work on the 57 basis of which she or he could establish a new benefit year that 58 includes that week; and 59 3.a. Has no right to unemployment benefits or allowances 60 under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or other federal 61 laws as specified in regulations issued by the United States 62 Secretary of Labor; and 63 b. Has not received and is not seeking unemployment 64 benefits under the unemployment compensation law of Canada; but 65 if an individual is seeking those benefits and the appropriate 66 agency finally determines that she or he is not entitled to 67 benefits under that law, she or he is considered an exhaustee. 68 (g) “State ‘on’ indicator” means, with respect to weeks of 69 unemployment beginning on or after February 1, 2009, and ending 70 on or before December 12, 2009, the occurrence of a week in 71 which the average total unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, 72 as determined by the United States Secretary of Labor, for the 73 period consisting of the most recent 3 months for which data for 74 all states are published by the United States Department of 75 Labor: 76 1. Equals or exceeds 110 percent of the average of those 77 rates for the corresponding 3 month period ending in each of the 78 preceding 2 calendar years; and 79 2. Equals or exceeds 6.5 percent. 80 (h) “High unemployment period” means, with respect to weeks 81 of unemployment beginning on or after February 1, 2009, and 82 ending on or before December 12, 2009, any week in which the 83 average total unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, as 84 determined by the United States Secretary of Labor, for the 85 period consisting of the most recent 3 months for which data for 86 all states are published by the United States Department of 87 Labor: 88 1. Equals or exceeds 110 percent of the average of those 89 rates for the corresponding 3 month period ending in each of the 90 preceding 2 calendar years; and 91 2. Equals or exceeds 8 percent. 92 (h) “State ‘off’ indicator” means the occurrence of a week 93 in which there is no state “on” indicator or which does not 94 constitute a high unemployment period. 95 (3) TOTAL EXTENDED BENEFIT AMOUNT.—Except as provided in 96 subsection (5): 97 (a) For any week for which there is an “on” indicator 98 pursuant to paragraph (3)(g), the total extended benefit amount 99 payable to an eligible individual for her or his applicable 100 benefit year is the lesser of: 101 1. Fifty percent of the total regular benefits payable 102 under this chapter in the applicable benefit year; or 103 2. Thirteen times the weekly benefit amount payable under 104 this chapter for a week of total unemployment in the applicable 105 benefit year. 106 (b) For any high unemployment period as defined in 107 paragraph (3)(h), the total extended benefit amount payable to 108 an eligible individual for her or his applicable benefit year is 109 the lesser of: 110 1. Eighty percent of the total regular benefits payable 111 under this chapter in the applicable benefit year; or 112 2. Twenty times the weekly benefit amount payable under 113 this chapter for a week of total unemployment in the applicable 114 benefit year. 115 (4) EFFECT ON TRADE READJUSTMENT.—Notwithstanding any other 116 provision of this chapter, if the benefit year of an individual 117 ends within an extended benefit period, the number of weeks of 118 extended benefits the individual is entitled to receive in that 119 extended benefit period for weeks of unemployment beginning 120 after the end of the benefit year, except as provided in this 121 section, is reduced, but not to below zero, by the number of 122 weeks for which the individual received, within that benefit 123 year, trade readjustment allowances under the Trade Act of 1974, 124 as amended. 125 Section 5. The provisions of section 443.1117, Florida 126 Statutes, as created by this act, apply only to claims for weeks 127 of unemployment, in which an exhaustee establishes entitlement 128 to extended benefits pursuant to that section, established for 129 the period between February 22, 2009 and January 2, 2010. 130 131 132 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 133 And the title is amended as follows: 134 Delete lines 20 - 24 135 and insert: 136 providing for retroactive application; establishing temporary 137 state extended benefits for weeks of unemployment between 138 February 22 2009, and January 2, 2010; creating definitions; 139 providing for state extended benefits for certain weeks and for 140 periods of high unemployment; providing for applicability of s. 141 443.1117, F.S.; providing that the act fulfills an