06 LC 36
0060
House
Bill 1410
By:
Representatives Fludd of the
66th,
Bruce of the
64th,
Mosby of the
90th,
Morgan of the
39th,
Buckner of the
130th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to employment security, so as to provide for a self-employment assistance
program; to provide a short title; to provide definitions; to establish the
maximum allowable amount of weekly self-employment assistance; to determine
eligibility; to limit the number of individuals receiving a self-employment
assistance allowance; to provide for a self-employment assistance allowance to
be charged or assessed to an
employeŕs
account; to provide for appeal of nonacceptance into self-employment assistance
program; to provide for reports by the Commissioner; to provide for related
matters; to provide effective dates; to provide for contingent repeal; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment
security, is amended by striking subsection (b) of Code Section 34-8-220,
relating to appointment of hearing officers to hear and decide appealed
decisions, and inserting in its place a new subsection (b) to read as
follows:
"(b)
Unless an appeal is withdrawn, an administrative hearing officer, after
affording the parties reasonable opportunity for fair hearing, shall affirm or
modify the findings of fact and initial determination or shall make a decision
after hearing on issues referred by the Commissioner pursuant to subsection (b)
of Code Section 34-8-192
or subsection
(b) of Code Section 34-8-307. The parties
shall be duly notified of such decision, together with the reasons therefor,
which shall be deemed to be the final decision of the Commissioner, unless
within 15 days after the date of notification or mailing of such decision
further appeal is initiated pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section
34-8-221."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by striking subsection (a) of Code Section 34-8-223,
relating to procedure for judicial review of final decisions of board of review,
and inserting in its place a new subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a)
Any decision of the board of review, in the absence of a reconsideration as
provided in subsection
(d)(c)
of Code Section 34-8-192
or in
subsection (c) of Code Section 34-8-307,
shall become final 15 days after the date of notification or mailing. Judicial
review shall be permitted only after any party claiming to be aggrieved thereby
has exhausted his or her administrative remedies as provided by this chapter.
The Commissioner shall be deemed to be a party to any judicial action involving
any such decision and shall be represented in any such judicial action by the
Attorney
General."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding a new Article 11 to read as
follows:
"ARTICLE
11
34-8-300.
This
article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Self-employment Assistance
Program.'
34-8-301.
As
used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates, the
term:
(1)
'Regular benefits' means benefits payable to an individual under this chapter
including benefits payable to federal civilian employees and to former members
of the United States armed forces pursuant to the Title 5 U.S.C. Chapter 85,
other than additional benefits, extended benefits, and extended benefits for
dislocated workers.
(2)
'Self-employment assistance activities' means activities approved by the
Commissioner in which an individual participates for the purpose of establishing
a business and becoming self-employed. Such activities shall include but are
not limited to entrepreneurial training, business counseling, and technical
assistance.
(3)
'Self-employment assistance allowance' means an allowance payable, in lieu of
regular benefits, from the Employment Security Administration Fund to an
individual who meets the requirements of this article.
(4)
'Self-employment assistance program' means a program under which an individual
who meets the requirements described in Code Section 34-8-304 is eligible to
receive an allowance in lieu of regular benefits for the purpose of assisting
that individual in establishing a business and becoming
self-employed.
34-8-302.
The
weekly amount of a self-employment assistance allowance payable to an individual
under this article is equal to the weekly benefit amount for regular benefits
otherwise payable under Code Section 34-8-193.
34-8-303.
The
sum of the self-employment assistance allowance paid under this article and
regular benefits paid under other provisions of this chapter may not exceed the
maximum amount of benefits established under Code Section 34-8-193 with respect
to any benefit year.
34-8-304.
The
following eligibility requirements apply to the payment of a self-employment
assistance allowance under this article:
(1)
An individual may receive a self-employment assistance allowance if that
individual:
(A)
Is eligible to receive regular benefits or would be eligible to receive regular
benefits but for the requirements described in paragraph (2) of this Code
section;
(B)
Is identified by a worker profiling system as an individual likely to exhaust
regular benefits;
(C)
Has filed an application for participation in a self-employment assistance
program within 60 days of filing an initial application for regular benefits and
has provided the information the Commissioner requires;
(D)
Has, at the time the application for participation in a self-employment
assistance program is filed, a balance of regular benefits equal to at least 18
times the
individuaĺs
weekly benefits amount and at least 18 weeks remaining in the
individuaĺs
benefit year;
(E)
Has been accepted into a program approved by the Commissioner that will provide
self-employment assistance activities;
(F)
Is participating in self-employment assistance activities;
(G)
Is actively engaged on a full-time basis in activities, which may include
training, related to establishing a business and becoming self-employed;
and
(H)
Has filed a weekly claim for the self-employment assistance allowance and
provided the information the Commissioner requires, including a log of
self-employment activities; and
(2)
A self-employment assistance allowance is payable to an individual at the same
interval, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as regular
benefits except that:
(A)
The requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of Code Section 34-8-195,
relating to availability for work and active search for work, are not applicable
to the individual;
(B)
The requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of Code Section 34-8-194,
relating to refusal to accept work, are not applicable to the
individual;
(C)
An individual is considered unemployed for the purposes of Code Section
34-8-195; and
(D)
An individual who fails to participate in self-employment assistance activities
or who fails to actively engage on a full-time basis in activities, which may
include training, related to establishing a business and becoming self-employed
is denied benefits for the week the failure occurs.
34-8-305.
The
aggregate number of individuals receiving self-employment assistance allowance
at any time shall not exceed 5 percent of the number of individuals receiving
regular benefits at that time.
34-8-306.
A
self-employment assistance allowance shall be charged or assessed to an
employeŕs
account in accordance with Article 5 of this chapter. An allowance attributable
to the United States armed forces or civilian service shall be charged to the
appropriate federal account.
34-8-307.
(a)
Employees of the department designated by the Commissioner shall take the
initial claim. An initial determination thereon shall be made promptly and
shall include a written determination with respect to whether or not benefits
are payable, the week with respect to which benefits shall commence, the weekly
benefit amount payable, and the maximum duration of benefits.
(b)
Whenever a determination involves the application of difficult issues of fact or
law, the Commissioner may appoint a panel of three administrative hearing
officers for hearing and decision in accordance with subsection (a) of Code
Section 34-8-220. The claimant and any other parties to the determination or
redetermination shall be promptly notified in writing of the decision and the
reasons therefor.
(c)
A determination shall be final unless a party entitled to notice applies for
reconsideration of the determination or appeals the determination within 15 days
after the notice was mailed to the
partýs
last known address or otherwise delivered to the party. Before a determination
becomes final as provided in this Code section, the Commissioner may issue a
redetermination if good cause is shown. Such redetermination is subject to
further appeal by any party entitled to notice.
(d)
Any appeal of initial determination or redetermination may be appealed in the
same manner as provided for appeals of unemployment compensation determinations
set forth in Article 8 of this chapter.
34-8-308.
The
Commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement a self-employment assistance
program including, but not limited to, criteria for approval of programs that
provide self-employment activities, eligibility criteria for acceptance into and
participation in these programs, and the review and appeal process for
determination of individual eligibility for these programs.
34-9-309.
Annually
by March 1, the Commissioner shall report to the standing committees of the
General Assembly having jurisdiction over labor matters on the self-employment
assistance program. This report shall include data on the number of individuals
participating in the program and the number of businesses developed under the
program, business survival data, the cost of operating the program, compliance
with program requirements, and data related to business income, the number of
employees and wages paid in the new businesses, and the incidence and duration
of unemployment after business start-up. The report may also include any
recommended changes in the
program."
SECTION
4.
This
Act shall become effective on the Monday next following the later of the
occurrences below:
(1)
Approval of this Act by the Governor or its becoming law without such approval;
or
(2)
A plan required by the United States Department of Labor is approved for the
purposes of this Act.
SECTION
5.
This
Act shall stand repealed on the earlier of the occurrences below:
(1)
Withdrawal of approval of a plan required by the United States Department of
Labor for the purposes of this Act; or
(2)
The date upon which federal law no longer authorizes self-employment assistance
programs.
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.