Florida Senate - 2009 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 810 Barcode 655898 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 04/21/2009 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means (Garcia) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Between lines 271 and 272 4 insert: 5 Section 4. Effective July 5, 2009, and expiring December 6 26, 2009, section 443.1117, Florida Statutes, is created to 7 read: 8 443.1117 -TEMPORARY EXTENDED BENEFITS 9 (1) PERIOD OF APPLICABILITY.-The provisions of this section 10 apply only to claims in which entitlement to extended benefits 11 pursuant to this section are established for the weeks between 12 July 5, 2009 and December 26, 2009. 13 (2) APPLICABILITY OF EXTENDED BENEFITS STATUTE.-Except when 14 the result is inconsistent with the other provisions of this 15 section, the provisions of s. 443.1115(3),(4),(6), and (7) apply 16 to all claims covered by this section. 17 (3) DEFINITIONS.–For the purposes of this section the 18 terms: 19 (a) “Extended benefit period”, “regular benefits”, and 20 “extended benefits” have the same meaning as in s. 443.1115. 21 (b) “Eligibility period” means the period consisting of the 22 weeks in an individual’s benefit year or emergency benefit 23 period which begin in an extended benefit period and, if the 24 benefit year or emergency benefit period ends within that 25 extended benefit period, any subsequent weeks beginning in that 26 period. 27 (c) “Emergency benefits” means Emergency Unemployment 28 Compensation paid pursuant to Pub. L. No. 110-252, Pub. L. No. 29 110-449, and Pub. L. No. 111-5. 30 (d) “Emergency benefit period” means the period during 31 which an individual receives emergency benefits as defined in 32 paragraph (c). 33 (e) “Exhaustee” means an individual who, for any week of 34 unemployment in her or his eligibility period: 35 1. Has received, before that week, all of the regular 36 benefits and emergency benefits, if any, available under this 37 chapter or any other law, including dependents’ allowances and 38 benefits payable to federal civilian employees and ex 39 servicemembers under 5 U.S.C. ss. 8501-8525, in the current 40 benefit year or emergency benefit period that includes that 41 week. For the purposes of this subparagraph, an individual has 42 received all of the regular benefits and emergency benefits, if 43 any, available although, as a result of a pending appeal for 44 wages paid for insured work which were not considered in the 45 original monetary determination in the benefit year, she or he 46 may subsequently be determined to be entitled to added regular 47 benefits; 48 2. Had a benefit year which expired before that week, and 49 was paid no, or insufficient, wages for insured work on the 50 basis of which she or he could establish a new benefit year that 51 includes that week; and 52 3.a. Has no right to unemployment benefits or allowances 53 under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or other federal 54 laws as specified in regulations issued by the United States 55 Secretary of Labor; and 56 b. Has not received and is not seeking unemployment 57 benefits under the unemployment compensation law of Canada; but 58 if an individual is seeking those benefits and the appropriate 59 agency finally determines that she or he is not entitled to 60 benefits under that law, she or he is considered an exhaustee. 61 (f) “State ‘on’ indicator” means the occurrence of a week 62 in which the average total unemployment rate under state law, 63 seasonally adjusted, as determined by the United States 64 Secretary of Labor, for the period consisting of that week and 65 the 12 weeks immediately preceding it: 66 1. Equals or exceeds 110 percent of the average of those 67 rates for the corresponding 13-week period ending in each of the 68 preceding 2 calendar years; and 69 2. Equals or exceeds 6.5 percent. 70 (g) “High unemployment period” means any week in which the 71 average total unemployment rate under state law, seasonally 72 adjusted, as determined by the United States Secretary of Labor, 73 for the period consisting of that week and the 12 weeks 74 immediately preceding it: 75 1. Equals or exceeds 110 percent of the average of those 76 rates for the corresponding 13-week period ending in each of the 77 preceding 2 calendar years; and 78 2. Equals or exceeds 8 percent. 79 (h) “State ‘off’ indicator” means the occurrence of a week 80 in which there is no state “on” indicator or which does not 81 constitute a high unemployment period. 82 (4) TOTAL EXTENDED BENEFIT AMOUNT.—Except as provided in 83 subsection (5): 84 (a) For any week for which there is an “on” indicator 85 pursuant to paragraph (3)(f), the total extended benefit amount 86 payable to an eligible individual for her or his applicable 87 benefit year is the lesser of: 88 1. Fifty percent of the total regular benefits payable 89 under this chapter in the applicable benefit year; or 90 2. Thirteen times the weekly benefit amount payable under 91 this chapter for a week of total unemployment in the applicable 92 benefit year. 93 (b) For any high unemployment period as defined in 94 paragraph (3)(g), the total extended benefit amount payable to 95 an eligible individual for her or his applicable benefit year is 96 the lesser of: 97 1. Eighty percent of the total regular benefits payable 98 under this chapter in the applicable benefit year; or 99 2. Twenty times the weekly benefit amount payable under 100 this chapter for a week of total unemployment in the applicable 101 benefit year. 102 (c) In the case of any individual who receives extended 103 compensation with respect to one or more weeks of unemployment 104 beginning after July 5, 2009, and before December 26, 2009, the 105 individual shall continue to receive any benefits to which she 106 or he is entitled under this section, except that the individual 107 may not receive any benefits for any week ending after May 29, 108 2010. 109 (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if 110 the benefit year of an individual ends within an extended 111 benefit period, the number of weeks of extended benefits the 112 individual is entitled to receive in that extended benefit 113 period for weeks of unemployment beginning after the end of the 114 benefit year, except as provided in this section, is reduced, 115 but not to below zero, by the number of weeks for which the 116 individual received, within that benefit year, trade 117 readjustment allowances under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. 118 Section 5. The Legislature finds that this act fulfills an 119 important state interest. 120 121 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 122 And the title is amended as follows: 123 Delete line 19 124 and insert: 125 to request advances; creating s. 443.1117, F.S.; establishing 126 temporary state extended benefits for claims between July 5, 127 2009, and December 26, 2009; creating definitions; providing for 128 state extended benefits for certain weeks and for periods of 129 high unemployment; providing that the act fulfills an important 130 state interest; providing effective dates.