HOUSE BILL No. 5695

 

February 16, 2006, Introduced by Rep. Gonzales and referred to the Committee on Employment Relations, Training, and Safety.

 

     A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled

 

"Michigan employment security act,"

 

by amending section 17 (MCL 421.17), as amended by 2003 PA 174.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 17. (1) The bureau shall maintain in the unemployment

 

compensation fund a nonchargeable benefits account and a separate

 

experience account for each employer as provided in this section.

 

This act does not give an employer or  individuals  an individual

 

in the employer's service prior claims or rights to the amount paid

 

by the employer to the unemployment compensation fund. All

 

contributions to that fund shall be pooled and available to pay

 

benefits to any individual entitled to the benefits under this act,

 

irrespective of the source of the contributions.

 


     (2) The nonchargeable benefits account shall be credited with

 

the following:

 

     (a) All net earnings received on money, property, or

 

securities in the fund.

 

     (b) Any positive balance remaining in the employer's

 

experience account as of the second June 30 computation date

 

occurring after the employer has ceased to be subject to this act

 

or after the employer has elected to change from a contributing

 

employer to a reimbursing employer.

 

     (c) The proceeds of the nonchargeable benefits component of

 

employers' contribution rates determined as provided in section

 

19(a)(5).

 

     (d) All reimbursements received under section 11(c).

 

     (e) All amounts  which may be  that are paid or advanced by

 

the federal government under section 903 or section 1201 of the

 

social security act, 42  U.S.C.  USC 1103 and 1321, to the account

 

of  the  this state in the federal unemployment trust fund.

 

     (f) All benefits improperly paid to claimants  which  that

 

have been recovered and  which  that were previously charged to an

 

employer's account.

 

     (g) Any benefits forfeited by an individual by application of

 

section 62(b).

 

     (h) The amount of any benefit check, any employer refund

 

check, or any claimant restitution refund check duly issued  which  

 

that has not been presented for payment within 1 year after the

 

date of issue.

 

     (i) Any other unemployment fund income not creditable to the

 


experience account of any employer.

 

     (j) Any negative balance transferred to an employer's new

 

experience account  pursuant to  under this section.

 

     (k) Amounts transferred from the contingent fund  pursuant to  

 

under section 10.

 

     (3) The nonchargeable benefits account shall be charged with

 

the following:

 

     (a) Any negative balance remaining in an employer's experience

 

account as of the second June 30 computation date occurring after

 

the employer has ceased to be subject to this act or has elected to

 

change from a contributing employer to a reimbursing employer.

 

     (b) Refunds of amounts erroneously collected due to the

 

nonchargeable benefits component of an employer's contribution

 

rate.

 

     (c) All training benefits paid under section 27(g) not

 

reimbursable by the federal government and based on service with a

 

contributing employer.

 

     (d) Any positive balance credited or transferred to an

 

employer's new experience account  pursuant to  under this

 

subsection.

 

     (e) Repayments to the federal government of amounts advanced

 

by it under section 1201 of the social security act, 42  U.S.C.  

 

USC 1321, to the unemployment compensation fund established by this

 

act.

 

     (f) The amounts received by the unemployment compensation fund

 

under section 903 of the social security act, 42  U.S.C.  USC 1103,

 

that may be appropriated to the bureau in accordance with

 


subsection (8).

 

     (g) All benefits determined to have been improperly paid to

 

claimants which have been credited to employers' accounts in

 

accordance with section 20(a).

 

     (h) The amount of any substitute check issued to replace an

 

uncashed benefit check, employer refund check, or claimant

 

restitution refund check previously credited to this account.

 

     (i) The amount of any benefit check issued which would be

 

chargeable to the experience account of an employer who has ceased

 

to be subject to this act, and who has had a balance transferred

 

from the employer's experience account to the solvency or

 

nonchargeable benefits account.

 

     (j) All benefits which become nonchargeable to an employer

 

under section 29(3) or section 19(b) or (c).

 

     (k) For benefit years beginning before  the conversion date

 

prescribed in section 75  October 1, 2000, with benefits allocated

 

under section 20(e)(2) for a week of unemployment in which a

 

claimant earns remuneration with a contributing employer which

 

equals or exceeds the amount of benefits allocated to that

 

contributing employer, and for benefit years beginning on or after

 

the conversion date prescribed in section 75  October 1, 2000, with

 

benefits allocated under section  20(e)(3)  20(f) for a week of

 

unemployment in which a claimant earns remuneration with a

 

contributing employer which equals or exceeds the amount of

 

benefits allocated to that contributing employer.

 

     (l) Benefits that are nonchargeable to an employer's account in

 

accordance with section 20(i) or 29(1)(a)(ii).

 


     (m) The share of extended benefits otherwise charged to the

 

account of a contributing employer, but only during a period when

 

extended benefits are paid based on the average rate of total

 

unemployment in accordance with section 64(5)(c)(ii).

 

     (4) All contributions paid by an employer shall be credited to

 

the unemployment compensation fund, and, except as otherwise

 

provided with respect to the proceeds of the nonchargeable benefits

 

component of employers' contribution rates by section 19(a)(5), to

 

the employer's experience account, as of the date when paid.

 

However, those contributions paid during any July shall be credited

 

as of the immediately preceding June 30. Additional contributions

 

paid by an employer as the result of a retroactive contribution

 

rate adjustment, solely for the purpose of this subsection, shall

 

be credited to the employer's experience account as if paid when

 

due, if the payment is received within 30 days after the issuance

 

of the initial assessment which results from the contribution rate

 

adjustment and a written request for the application is filed by

 

the employer during this period.

 

     (5) If an employer who has ceased to be subject to this act,

 

and who has had a positive balance transferred as provided in

 

subsection (2) from the employer's experience account to the

 

solvency or nonchargeable benefits account as of the second

 

computation date after the employer has ceased to be subject to

 

this act, becomes subject to this act again within 6 years after

 

that computation date, the employer may apply, within 60 days after

 

the bureau's determination that the employer is again subject to

 

this act, to the bureau to have the positive balance, adjusted by

 


the debits and credits as have been made subsequent to the date of

 

transfer, credited to the employer's new experience account. If the

 

application is timely, the bureau shall credit the positive balance

 

to the employer's new experience account.

 

     (6) If an employer's status as a reimbursing employer is

 

terminated within 6 years after the date the employer's experience

 

account as a prior contributing employer was transferred to the

 

solvency or nonchargeable benefits account as provided in

 

subsection (2) or (3) and the employer continues to be subject to

 

this act as a contributing employer, any positive or negative

 

balance in the employer's experience account as a prior

 

contributing employer, which was transferred to the solvency or

 

nonchargeable benefits account, shall be transferred to the

 

employer's new experience account. However, an employer who is

 

delinquent with respect to any reimbursement payments in lieu of

 

contributions for which the employer may be liable shall not have a

 

positive balance transferred during the delinquency.

 

     (7) If a balance is transferred to an employer's new account

 

under subsection (5) or (6), the employer shall not be considered a

 

"qualified employer" until the employer has again been subject to

 

this act for the period set forth in section 19(a)(1).

 

     (8) All money credited under section 903 of the social

 

security act, 42  U.S.C.  USC 1103, to the account of  the  this

 

state in the federal unemployment trust fund shall immediately be

 

credited by the bureau to the fund's nonchargeable benefits

 

account. There is authorized to be appropriated to the bureau from

 

the money credited to the nonchargeable benefits account under this

 


subsection, an amount determined to be necessary for the proper and

 

efficient administration by the bureau of this act for purposes for

 

which federal grants under  Title 3  title III of the social

 

security act, 42  U.S.C.  USC 501 to 504, and the Wagner-Peyser

 

national employment system act, 29  U.S.C.  USC 49 to 49k, are not

 

available or are insufficient. The appropriation shall expire not

 

more than 2 years after the date of enactment and shall provide

 

that any unexpended balance shall then be credited to the

 

nonchargeable benefits account. An appropriation shall not be made

 

under this subsection for an amount which exceeds the "adjusted

 

balance" of the nonchargeable benefits account on the most recent

 

computation date. Appropriations made under this subsection shall

 

limit the total amount which may be obligated by the bureau during

 

a fiscal year to an amount which does not exceed the amount by

 

which the aggregate of the amounts credited to the nonchargeable

 

benefits account under this subsection during the fiscal year and

 

the 24 preceding fiscal years, exceeds the aggregate of the amounts

 

obligated by the bureau pursuant to appropriation under this

 

subsection and charged against the amounts thus credited to the

 

nonchargeable benefits account during any of the 25 fiscal years

 

and any amounts credited to the nonchargeable benefits account

 

which  that have been used for the payment of benefits.

 

     Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5693(request no.

 

H00545'05*) of the 93rd Legislature is enacted into law.