CSSB 120(L&C): "An Act relating to disclosure of certain information from the records of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and limiting the use of the disclosed information, and to the calculation and payment of unemployment compensation benefits; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 120(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to disclosure of certain information from the records of the 02 Department of Labor and Workforce Development and limiting the use of the disclosed 03 information, and to the calculation and payment of unemployment compensation 04 benefits; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 23.20.110(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) Except for disclosures required by 42 U.S.C. 503, as amended, and 20 08 C.F.R. 603, as amended, and disclosures authorized under [AS PROVIDED IN (h) 09 AND (i) OF] this section, the department shall hold information obtained from an 10 employing unit or individual in the course of administering this chapter and 11 determinations as to the benefit rights of an individual confidential and may not 12 disclose them or open them to public inspection in a manner that reveals the identity of 13 the individual or employing unit. A claimant or an employing unit [, OR THE LEGAL 14 REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CLAIMANT OR THE EMPLOYING UNIT,] is
01 entitled to information from the records of the department only to the extent necessary 02 to properly present or protest a claim or determination under this chapter. The 03 department may not provide information that is confidential under this section to 04 a person for use in any civil or administrative matter not directly involving the 05 presentation or protest of a claim or determination under this chapter; however, 06 subject [SUBJECT] to restrictions that the department prescribes by regulation, the 07 information must [MAY] be made available to the United States Department of 08 Homeland Security, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, for the 09 purpose of verifying a claimant's immigration status, to the United States 10 Railroad Retirement Board, to an agency of this state or another state or federal 11 agency charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law or the 12 maintenance of a system of public employment offices, to the United States 13 Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service [OR], for the purposes of 14 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, or to the Department of Revenue [TO THE 15 INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES, OR,] for tax 16 purposes [, TO THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE]. Information obtained in the 17 course of administering this chapter or in connection with the administration of the 18 employment service may be made available to persons or agencies for purposes 19 appropriate to the operation of a public employment service or the administration of 20 employment and training programs planned or coordinated by the Alaska Workforce 21 Investment Board under AS 23.15.550 - 23.15.585. 22 * Sec. 2. AS 23.20.110(e) is amended to read: 23 (e) The department shall provide wage and unemployment compensation 24 information 25 (1) requested by a state or federal agency under an income and 26 eligibility verification system that meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1320b-7 27 (Social Security Act); [OR] 28 (2) as required by federal law for child support purposes; 29 (3) to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services 30 for the National Directory of New Hires as required by 42 U.S.C. 503 and 42 31 U.S.C. 653; or
01 (4) to a state or a political subdivision of a state that administers a 02 program funded under 42 U.S.C. 601 - 619 that provides temporary assistance 03 for needy families. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 23.20.110(g) is amended to read: 05 (g) A recipient of records disclosed under [THE REQUIREMENTS OF] 06 this section may not use the disclosed records for a purpose other than the 07 purpose for which the disclosure was made. The requirements concerning the 08 confidentiality of information obtained in the course of administering this chapter 09 apply to officers and employees of a state, federal, [OR] municipal, or other agency to 10 whom the department provides information as authorized by this section. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.110(k) is amended to read: 12 (k) If an individual who is applying for or participating in a housing assistance 13 program administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 14 Development gives authorization, the department shall disclose, to the United States 15 Department of Housing and Urban Development or to representatives of the housing 16 assistance program operating the program, wage information and unemployment 17 compensation information. The authorization shall be made by the individual on a 18 consent form approved by the department. The form must state the information 19 authorized to be released and require the signature of the individual. In this subsection, 20 (1) "unemployment compensation information" means whether the 21 individual is receiving, has received, or has applied for unemployment compensation, 22 and the amount of unemployment compensation that the individual is receiving, has 23 received, or is eligible to [WILL] receive, and the individual's current address and 24 other contact information; 25 (2) "wage information" means the social security number, or numbers 26 if there are more than one, and quarterly wages of an employee, and the name, 27 address, state, and, if known, federal employer identification number of an employer 28 reporting wages under this chapter. 29 * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.110(m) is amended to read: 30 (m) The department may not release information under this section to a state 31 agency or to a person under contract with the state until the department and the agency
01 or person have entered into a written agreement that governs the release of 02 information. The written agreement must specify 03 (1) the purpose for the information; 04 (2) a description of the information to be provided; 05 (3) a description of the procedure for transmitting, securing, using, and 06 disposing of the information; [AND] 07 (4) the method of reimbursement, if any, for the cost of providing the 08 information; and 09 (5) that the department may perform on-site inspections to ensure 10 that the confidentiality requirements of this section are met. 11 * Sec. 6. AS 23.20.110(n) is amended to read: 12 (n) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the [THE] department may produce 13 statistical and other public reports based on information obtained in the course of 14 administering this chapter, so long as the department complies with the 15 requirements of 20 C.F.R. 603, as amended, regarding the use or release of 16 confidential records [REPORTS DO NOT REVEAL WAGE AND PAYROLL 17 DATA FOR AN EMPLOYING UNIT OR THE NAME OR NUMBER 18 IDENTIFYING AN INDIVIDUAL. THE REPORTS MAY INCLUDE THE FIRM 19 NAME, ADDRESS, NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION 20 SYSTEM CODE, CENSUS AREA CODE, NUMBER OF WORKERS EMPLOYED, 21 AND OCCUPATIONAL STAFFING PATTERNS FOR AN EMPLOYING UNIT]. 22 * Sec. 7. AS 23.20.110 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (r) The confidentiality requirements of this section do not apply to disclosure 24 of decisions and records on appeal in any matter before the department as long as the 25 federal social security number of the claimant and the employer's federal employer 26 identification number and federal social security number are redacted or removed 27 before disclosure is made. 28 * Sec. 8. AS 23.20.115 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 23.20.115. Unauthorized disclosure of information. A member of the 30 department, an employee of the department, an agent of the department, or an officer 31 or employee of a state, federal, [OR] municipal, or other agency that has been
01 provided with information by the department who, in violation of AS 23.20.110, 02 makes a disclosure of information obtained from an employing unit or from an 03 individual in the administration of this chapter, or a person who has obtained a list of 04 applicants for work or of claimants or recipients of benefits under this chapter and 05 who uses or permits the use of the list for a purpose not authorized by AS 23.20.110 is 06 guilty of a class B misdemeanor. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 23.20.290(c) is amended to read: 08 (c) Beginning January 1, 2009 [1997], the rate of contributions for each 09 employer is 73 [80] percent of the average benefit cost rate multiplied by the 10 employer's experience factor set out in column C of the table in this subsection 11 opposite the employer's applicable rate class set out in column A plus the fund 12 solvency adjustment required under (f) of this section. However, the rate of 13 contributions for an employer may not be less than one percent or more than six and 14 one-half percent. The rate of contributions for an employer in rate class 21 may not be 15 less than 5.4 percent. The rate of contributions for an employer must be rounded to the 16 nearest 1/100th of one percent. 17 COLUMN B COLUMN C 18 COLUMN A Cumulative Experience 19 Rate Class Ratable Payroll Factor 20 at least but less than 21 (percent) (percent) 22 1 5 .40 23 2 5 10 .45 24 3 10 15 .50 25 4 15 20 .55 26 5 20 25 .60 27 6 25 30 .65 28 7 30 35 .70 29 8 35 40 .80 30 9 40 45 .90 31 10 45 50 1.00
01 11 50 55 1.00 02 12 55 60 1.10 03 13 60 65 1.20 04 14 65 70 1.30 05 15 70 75 1.35 06 16 75 80 1.40 07 17 80 85 1.45 08 18 85 90 1.50 09 19 90 95 1.55 10 20 95 99.99 1.60 11 21 99.99 1.65. 12 * Sec. 10. AS 23.20.290(d) is amended to read: 13 (d) Beginning January 1, 2009 [1997], and for each succeeding year thereafter, 14 the rate of contributions payable by each employee of an employer who is subject to 15 AS 23.20.165 is 27 [20] percent of the average benefit cost rate as determined in (e) of 16 this section rounded to the nearest 1/100th of one percent. However, the rate of 17 contributions for an employee may not be less than one-half percent or more than one 18 percent. 19 * Sec. 11. AS 23.20.350(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) An individual who is paid at least $2,500 [$1,000] in wages during the 21 individual's base period for employment covered by this chapter is eligible to receive 22 benefits under this chapter if those wages were paid in at least two of the calendar 23 quarters of the individual's base period. 24 * Sec. 12. AS 23.20.350(d) is amended to read: 25 (d) An individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to receive 26 the weekly benefit amount set out in column (B) of the table in this subsection that is 27 opposite the amount set out in column (A) of the individual's base period wages 28 determined under (c) of this section: 29 (A) (B) 30 Base Period Wages Weekly Benefit 31 Amount
01 At least But less than 02 0 2,500 [1,000] $ 0 03 [1,000 1,250 44 04 1,250 1,500 46 05 1,500 1,750 48 06 1,750 2,000 50 07 2,000 2,250 52 08 2,250 2,500 54] 09 2,500 2,750 56 10 2,750 3,000 58 11 3,000 3,250 60 12 3,250 3,500 62 13 3,500 3,750 64 14 3,750 4,000 66 15 4,000 4,250 68 16 4,250 4,500 70 17 4,500 4,750 72 18 4,750 5,000 74 19 5,000 5,250 76 20 5,250 5,500 78 21 5,500 5,750 80 22 5,750 6,000 82 23 6,000 6,250 84 24 6,250 6,500 86 25 6,500 6,750 88 26 6,750 7,000 90 27 7,000 7,250 92 28 7,250 7,500 94 29 7,500 7,750 96 30 7,750 8,000 98 31 8,000 8,250 100
01 8,250 8,500 102 02 8,500 8,750 104 03 8,750 9,000 106 04 9,000 9,250 108 05 9,250 9,500 110 06 9,500 9,750 112 07 9,750 10,000 114 08 10,000 10,250 116 09 10,250 10,500 118 10 10,500 10,750 120 11 10,750 11,000 122 12 11,000 11,250 124 13 11,250 11,500 126 14 11,500 11,750 128 15 11,750 12,000 130 16 12,000 12,250 132 17 12,250 12,500 134 18 12,500 12,750 136 19 12,750 13,000 138 20 13,000 13,250 140 21 13,250 13,500 142 22 13,500 13,750 144 23 13,750 14,000 146 24 14,000 14,250 148 25 14,250 14,500 150 26 14,500 14,750 152 27 14,750 15,000 154 28 15,000 15,250 156 29 15,250 15,500 158 30 15,500 15,750 160 31 15,750 16,000 162
01 16,000 16,250 164 02 16,250 16,500 166 03 16,500 16,750 168 04 16,750 17,000 170 05 17,000 17,250 172 06 17,250 17,500 174 07 17,500 17,750 176 08 17,750 18,000 178 09 18,000 18,250 180 10 18,250 18,500 182 11 18,500 18,750 184 12 18,750 19,000 186 13 19,000 19,250 188 14 19,250 19,500 190 15 19,500 19,750 192 16 19,750 20,000 194 17 20,000 20,250 196 18 20,250 20,500 198 19 20,500 20,750 200 20 20,750 21,000 202 21 21,000 21,250 204 22 21,250 21,500 206 23 21,500 21,750 208 24 21,750 22,000 210 25 22,000 22,250 212 26 22,250 22,500 214 27 22,500 22,750 216 28 22,750 23,000 218 29 23,000 23,250 220 30 23,250 23,500 222 31 23,500 23,750 224
01 23,750 24,000 226 02 24,000 24,250 228 03 24,250 24,500 230 04 24,500 24,750 232 05 24,750 25,000 234 06 25,000 25,250 236 07 25,250 25,500 238 08 25,500 25,750 240 09 25,750 26,000 242 10 26,000 26,250 244 11 26,250 26,500 246 12 26,500 26,750 248 13 26,750 27,000 250 14 27,000 27,250 252 15 27,250 27,500 254 16 27,500 27,750 256 17 27,750 28,000 258 18 28,000 28,250 260 19 28,250 28,500 262 20 28,500 28,750 264 21 28,750 29,000 266 22 29,000 29,250 268 23 29,250 29,500 270 24 29,500 29,750 272 25 29,750 30,000 274 26 30,000 30,250 276 27 30,250 30,500 278 28 30,500 30,750 280 29 30,750 31,000 282 30 31,000 31,250 284 31 31,250 31,500 286
01 31,500 31,750 288 02 31,750 32,000 290 03 32,000 32,250 292 04 32,250 32,500 294 05 32,500 32,750 296 06 32,750 33,000 298 07 33,000 33,250 300 08 33,250 33,500 302 09 33,500 33,750 304 10 33,750 34,000 306 11 34,000 34,250 308 12 34,250 34,500 310 13 34,500 34,750 312 14 34,750 35,000 314 15 35,000 35,250 316 16 35,250 35,500 318 17 35,500 35,750 320 18 35,750 36,000 322 19 36,000 36,250 324 20 36,250 36,500 326 21 36,500 36,750 328 22 36,750 37,000 330 23 37,000 37,250 332 24 37,250 37,500 334 25 37,500 37,750 336 26 37,750 38,000 338 27 38,000 38,250 340 28 38,250 38,500 342 29 38,500 38,750 344 30 38,750 39,000 346 31 39,000 39,250 348
01 39,250 39,500 350 02 39,500 39,750 352 03 39,750 40,000 354 04 40,000 40,250 356 05 40,250 40,500 358 06 40,500 40,750 360 07 40,750 41,000 362 08 41,000 41,250 364 09 41,250 41,500 366 10 41,500 41,750 368 11 41,750 42,000 370 12 42,000 370 [248]. 13 * Sec. 13. AS 23.20.350(e) is amended to read: 14 (e) An individual who is eligible under (d) or (h) of this section is entitled to 15 receive a weekly benefit under this chapter for the number of weeks set out in column 16 (B) of the table in this subsection opposite the applicable earnings ratio of the 17 individual set out in column (A): 18 (A) (B) 19 Earnings Ratio Number of Weeks 20 less than 1.50 16 21 1.50-1.99 18 22 2.00-2.49 20 23 2.50-2.99 22 24 3.00-3.49 24 25 3.50 or more 26. 26 * Sec. 14. AS 23.20.350 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 27 (h) Notwithstanding (d) of this section, for a benefit year beginning on or after 28 January 1, 2009, an individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to 29 receive the weekly benefit amount calculated in accordance with this subsection and 30 set under (i) of this section if the individual's base period wages determined under (c) 31 of this section are at least $42,250. The department shall adopt regulations to establish
01 a methodology to calculate new amounts that increase the highest weekly benefit 02 amount shown in (d) of this section by $2 increments and the highest base period 03 wages amount shown in (d) of this section by $250 increments if the average weekly 04 wage in this state, as calculated under (k) of this section, has increased by an 05 increment amount established by the department in the regulations. The methodology 06 established under this subsection may not result in new weekly benefit amounts that 07 exceed 50 percent replacement of the average weekly wages in this state as determined 08 under (k) of this section. By December 1 of each year, the department shall apply the 09 methodology established under this subsection to calculate any new weekly benefit 10 and base period wages amounts. 11 (i) By December 1 of each year, the department shall give notice of any 12 proposed new weekly benefit amounts calculated under (h) of this section by posting 13 notice on the Alaska Online Public Notice System (AS 44.62.175), furnishing notice 14 to interested persons who have requested notification, and providing a press release to 15 the media. In the notice, the department shall provide the public with an opportunity to 16 comment on the accuracy of the department's calculations. Fifteen days after posting 17 the notice on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, the department shall set the 18 new weekly benefit amounts. A new weekly benefit amount set under this subsection 19 applies January 1 of the following calendar year, but does not apply to an individual 20 whose current benefit year began before that date. The department may set new 21 weekly benefit amounts under this subsection only once each calendar year, beginning 22 in December 2008. The process under this subsection is exempt from AS 44.62 23 (Administrative Procedure Act), but the weekly benefit amounts set under this 24 subsection shall be submitted to the lieutenant governor for publication in the Alaska 25 Administrative Code for informational purposes. 26 (j) The commissioner shall report to the governor and the legislature if the 27 average weekly wage in this state decreases to the extent that an adjustment in weekly 28 benefit amounts set in (d) of this section or under (h) and (i) of this section is 29 appropriate for the proper administration of trust funds under this chapter. 30 (k) By December 1 of each year, the department shall determine the average 31 weekly wage in this state by dividing the average annual wage in this state for the
01 preceding 12-month period ending June 30 by 52. The resulting figure is the average 02 weekly wage in this state for purposes of the department's calculations under (h) and 03 (j) of this section. For purposes of this subsection, the department's calculation of the 04 average annual wage in this state must include the wages of all employees in the state, 05 both public and private, who are covered by this chapter. 06 * Sec. 15. AS 23.20.526(d)(8) is amended to read: 07 (8) in the employ of the state or a political subdivision of the state if the 08 service is performed by an individual in the exercise of duties 09 (A) as a judicial officer, the governor, the lieutenant governor, 10 a person hired or appointed as the head or deputy head of a department in the 11 executive branch, a person hired or appointed as the director of a division of a 12 department in the executive branch, an assistant to the governor, a chair or 13 member of a state commission or board, state investment officers and the state 14 comptroller in the Department of Revenue, an appointed or elected municipal 15 officer, any other elected official, the fiscal analyst of the legislative finance 16 division, the legislative auditor of the legislative audit division, the executive 17 director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, and the directors of the divisions 18 within the Legislative Affairs Agency; 19 (B) as a member of the Alaska Army National Guard or Alaska 20 Air National Guard or Alaska Naval Militia; 21 (C) as an employee serving on only a temporary basis in case 22 of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or similar emergency; or 23 (D) as an election official or election worker if the amount of 24 remuneration received by the individual during the calendar year for services 25 as an election official or election worker is less than $2,500 [$1,000]; 26 * Sec. 16. AS 23.20.110(h), 23.20.110(i), and 23.20.110(j) are repealed. 27 * Sec. 17. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. Notwithstanding sec. 19 of this Act, the 30 Department of Labor and Workforce Development may immediately proceed to adopt 31 regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take effect
01 under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the 02 statutory change. 03 * Sec. 18. Sections 1 - 8, 16, and 17 of this Act take effect immediately under 04 AS 01.10.070(c). 05 * Sec. 19. Except as provided in sec. 18 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2009.