AB23:v99#DOCUMENTBill Start
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 23
Introduced by Assembly Members Chen and Patterson
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cunningham, Megan Dahle, Davies, Gallagher, Kiley, Lackey, Mathis, Nguyen, Seyarto, Smith, Valladares, Voepel, and Waldron)
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December 07, 2020 |
An act to amend Section 1329 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to unemployment insurance, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 23, as introduced, Chen.
Benefits: eligibility determination: inmates.
Existing law authorizes the Employment Development Department (department) to administer the federal-state unemployment insurance program and provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Existing law establishes procedures for the filing, determination, and payment of benefit claims, and those benefits are payable from the Unemployment Fund. Existing law requires the department to promptly pay benefits if it finds the claimant is eligible and to promptly deny benefits if it finds the claimant is ineligible for benefits. Existing law requires the department to consider facts submitted by an employer in making this determination and also provides for the department to audit claims, as specified.
This bill would, beginning July 1, 2021,
require the department, as part of its process for determining eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits, cross-check all claimant information with state and county correctional facility inmate data in an effort to detect fraudulent applications.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Digest Key
Vote:
2/3
Appropriation:
NO
Fiscal Committee:
YES
Local Program:
NO
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 1329 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:1329.
(a) Upon the filing of a new claim for benefits, the department shall promptly make a computation on the claim that shall set forth the maximum amount of benefits potentially payable during the benefit year, and the weekly benefit amount. The department shall promptly notify the claimant of the computation and the method of computation. The department shall promptly notify each of the claimant’s base period employers of the computation after the payment of the first weekly benefit.(b) The department shall promptly notify each of the claimant’s base period employers of the computation on the claim that shall set forth the number of weeks that the claimant will be eligible for benefits in the benefit year, the weekly benefit amount, and the maximum amount of benefits
potentially payable during the benefit year, based on a determination of eligibility under Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 1266).
(c) Beginning July 1, 2021, the department shall, as part of its process for determining eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits, cross-check all claimant information with state and county correctional facility inmate data in an effort to detect fraudulent applications.
SEC. 2.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:In order to prevent unemployment insurance benefits from being fraudulently claimed by current inmates in the correctional system, and to preserve the availability of benefits for eligible claimants, it is necessary that this measure take effect immediately.