00 SENATE BILL NO. 222 01 "An Act relating to standard industrial classification for, eligibility for benefits 02 under, and the definition of 'benefit year' for, the Alaska Employment Security 03 Act; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 23.20.110(n) is amended to read: 06  (n) The department may produce statistical and other public reports based on 07 information obtained in the course of administering this chapter, so long as the reports 08 do not reveal wage and payroll data for an employing unit or the name or number 09 identifying an individual. The reports may include the firm name, address, North 10 American Industry Classification System [STANDARD INDUSTRIAL 11 CLASSIFICATION] code, census area code, number of workers employed, and 12 occupational staffing patterns for an employing unit. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 23.20.170(b) is amended to read: 14  (b) An employer who is not entitled to a rate determination under 01 AS 23.20.280 - 23.20.310 because the employer is ineligible under AS 23.20.281 shall 02 pay contributions at a rate equal to the average industry tax rate as determined by the 03 commissioner. Assignment by the commissioner of employers to industrial 04 classification, for the purposes of this subsection, shall be to the industry group code 05 provided in the most current version of the North American Industry 06 Classification System-United States [TWO-DIGIT MAJOR GROUP PROVIDED IN 07 THE STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION CODE], in accordance with 08 established classification practices found in the most current version of the North 09 American Industry Classification System Manual prepared by the United States 10 Office of Management and Budget ["STANDARD INDUSTRIAL 11 CLASSIFICATION MANUAL" ISSUED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT 12 OF LABOR]. 13 * Sec. 3 AS 23.20.379(a) is amended to read: 14  (a) An insured worker is disqualified for waiting-week credit or benefits for 15 the first week in which the insured worker is unemployed and for the next five weeks 16 of unemployment following that week if the insured worker 17  (1) left the insured worker's last suitable work voluntarily without good 18 cause; or 19  (2) was discharged for misconduct connected with the insured worker's 20  last  work. 21 * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.382(d) is amended to read: 22  (d) An otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits or waiting- 23 week credit for any week because the individual is in any training approved under P.L. 105-220 (Workforce 24 Investment Act of 1998) [29 U.S.C. 1651 - 1658, AS AMENDED BY 25 P.L. 100-418], and, while attending the training, is not available for work, fails to seek work, 26 or refuses work. 27 * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.520(5) is repealed and reenacted to read: 28  (5) "benefit year" means a period of 52 consecutive weeks beginning 29 at 12:00 a.m. of the Sunday preceding the day that an insured worker first files a 30 request for determination of the worker's insured status, and thereafter the period of 31 52 consecutive weeks beginning at 12:00 a.m. of the Sunday preceding the day that 01 the insured worker next files the request after the end of the worker's last preceding 02 benefit year; however, for a worker covered by this paragraph, "benefit year" also 03 means a period of 53 weeks if the filing of a request for determination would result 04 in overlapping any quarter of the base year of a previously filed request for 05 determination; the filing of a notice of unemployment is considered a request for 06 determination of insured status if a current benefit year has not previously been 07 established; 08 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 09 to read: 10 TRANSITION PROVISION. Notwithstanding the change to the definition of "benefit 11 year" enacted by sec. 5 of this Act, for an insured worker who, on October 6, 2001, has an 12 established current benefit year, the definition of "benefit year" as it existed in 13 AS 23.20.520(5) on October 6, 2001 applies to that worker's claim under AS 23.20 until that 14 worker's current benefit year is completed. If an insured worker's current benefit year under 15 this section ends on a day other than Sunday, the current benefit year is extended until 11:59 16 p.m. of the Saturday following that ending week. 17 * Sec. 7. Sections 1 - 4 of this Act take effect July 1, 2000. 18 * Sec. 8. Sections 5 and 6 of this Act take effect October 7, 2001.