CSSB 229(L&C): "An Act relating to employment contributions, to the calculation of unemployment insurance benefits, and to the state training and employment program; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 229(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to employment contributions, to the calculation of 02 unemployment insurance benefits, and to the state training and employment 03 program; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. FINDINGS. The legislature finds that 06 (1) an inadequate number of jobs exist in this state to meet the needs of those 07 seeking employment; 08 (2) many Alaskans are having difficulty finding jobs, especially in trying to 09 meet the changing technology needs in this state; 10 (3) employer and employee contributions paid into the unemployment 11 insurance system are used for payment of compensation to unemployed workers and allocation 12 of a small portion of employment contributions paid by employees would provide money to 13 develop a state training and employment program to meet the training needs of Alaskans; 14 (4) a state training and employment program would
01 (A) help prevent future claims against unemployment benefits; 02 (B) foster new jobs by encouraging businesses to locate in the state due 03 to availability of a skilled labor force and by minimizing employers' unemployment 04 costs; and 05 (C) increase training opportunities to those workers severely affected 06 by the fluctuations in the state economy or technological changes in the workplace in 07 the state; 08 (5) it would be beneficial to the state for state training and employment 09 programs funded by the state training and employment program to supplement, but not to 10 displace, programs funded by money available to a training entity for public or private 11 training, and not to replace, parallel, compete with, or duplicate existing federally approved, 12 jointly administered apprenticeship and training programs; 13 (6) it would be beneficial to the state to make the state training and 14 employment program a permanent state program to benefit Alaska workers, businesses, and 15 industry. 16 * Sec. 2. AS 23.15 is amended by adding new sections to read: 17 ARTICLE 4A. STATE TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM. 18 Sec. 23.15.620. STATE TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM. 19 There is created in the department a program to finance and award grants to 20 employment assistance and training entities. Employment assistance and training 21 entities shall give appropriate state agencies full access to accounting records 22 concerning grants received to assure compliance with program standards. 23 Sec. 23.15.625. EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING 24 PROGRAM ACCOUNT. The employment assistance and training program account 25 is established in the general fund. The commissioner of administration shall separately 26 account for money collected under AS 23.15.630 that the department deposits in the 27 general fund. The annual estimated balance in the account may be appropriated by the 28 legislature to the department to implement AS 23.15.620 - 23.15.660. The legislature 29 may appropriate the lapsing balance of the account to the unemployment compensation 30 fund established in AS 23.20.130. 31 Sec. 23.15.630. SPECIAL EMPLOYEE UNEMPLOYMENT CREDIT AND
01 CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PROGRAM. (a) In the manner provided in AS 23.20, the 02 department shall collect from each employee an amount equal to one-tenth of one 03 percent of the wages, as set out in AS 23.20.175, on which the employee is required 04 to make contributions under AS 23.20.290(d). The department shall remit to the 05 Department of Revenue, in accordance with AS 37.10.050, money collected under this 06 subsection. 07 (b) Notwithstanding AS 23.20.290(d), the department shall credit each 08 employee with an amount equal to the amount collected from the employee under (a) 09 of this section against unemployment contributions owed by the employee under 10 AS 23.20. 11 (c) The department shall assess and collect, under AS 23.20.185 - 23.20.275, 12 interest and penalties for delinquent reports and payments due under this section. 13 Interest and penalties collected shall be handled in accordance with AS 23.20.130(d). 14 Sec. 23.15.635. PEOPLE TO BE SERVED. Within the limits of its grant, an 15 employment assistance and training entity receiving a grant under AS 23.15.651 shall 16 provide services set out in AS 23.15.640 to state residents who, immediately before 17 beginning training or receiving benefits under a grant financed by this program, 18 (1) are unemployed and 19 (A) are receiving unemployment insurance benefits; or 20 (B) have exhausted the right to unemployment insurance 21 benefits within the past three years; 22 (2) are employed, but liable to be displaced within the next six months 23 because of 24 (A) reductions in overall employment within a business; 25 (B) elimination of the worker's current job; or 26 (C) a change in conditions of employment requiring that, to 27 remain employed, the employee must learn substantially different skills that the 28 employee does not now possess; or 29 (3) have worked in a position covered by AS 23.20 at any time during 30 the last three years, and are not currently eligible for unemployment insurance benefits 31 because
01 (A) their employment has been seasonal, temporary, part-time, 02 or marginal; 03 (B) their qualifying wages are insufficient because of limited 04 job opportunity; or 05 (C) they are employed but, because they are underemployed, 06 they are in need of employment assistance and training to obtain full 07 employment. 08 Sec. 23.15.640. SERVICES FOR ELIGIBLE PEOPLE. Subject to the limits 09 of its grant, an entity receiving a grant under AS 23.15.651 shall provide one or more 10 program elements. The program elements include 11 (1) industry-specific training; 12 (2) on-the-job training; 13 (3) institutional or classroom job-linked training; 14 (4) support services, including allowances; 15 (5) relocation assistance; or 16 (6) provisions of necessary tools, work-related clothing, safety gear, or 17 other necessities to obtain or retain employment. 18 Sec. 23.15.645. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT. (a) The 19 department shall award a grant to the council to 20 (1) administer a state training and employment program; and 21 (2) award grants to qualified entities. 22 (b) When a grant is awarded to the council, the department shall annually 23 provide to the council a priority list of targeted projects or services, based on 24 unemployment statistics, unemployment insurance claims, occupational and industrial 25 projections, availability of other training and employment programs, and other relevant 26 data. The department shall also provide annually to the council a priority list of 27 criteria for eligibility to maximize services to those people most in need of training 28 under AS 23.15.620 - 23.15.660. In developing the priority list for targeted projects 29 and services, the department shall solicit comments from the Department of 30 Community and Regional Affairs, Department of Education, Department of Commerce 31 and Economic Development, University of Alaska, organized labor, the council, and
01 the administrative entities of the substate service delivery areas established for the 02 council. The department shall give preference to projects and services that train 03 individuals in industries identified in the resident hire report required under 04 AS 36.10.130 as employing a disproportionate percentage of nonresident individuals. 05 (c) The department may adopt regulations necessary to implement this chapter. 06 (d) The council shall establish grant administration requirements including 07 accounting procedures that apply to qualified entities and their grantees. 08 (e) In making a grant under this section, the council shall require that the 09 qualified entity and grantees of the qualified entity limit the amount of the grant 10 proceeds spent on administration so that the total spent on administration from the 11 proceeds of the employment assistance and training program account, including 12 amounts spent by the council itself, does not exceed 20 percent. The amount collected 13 and remitted in accordance with the shared cost requirements of the federal Office of 14 Management and Budget Circular A-87 entitled "Cost Principles for State and Local 15 Governments" is not considered an amount spent on administration under this 16 subsection. 17 Sec. 23.15.651. DUTIES OF ALASKA HUMAN RESOURCE INVESTMENT 18 COUNCIL; GRANTS; ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. (a) In implementing this program 19 under a grant received under AS 23.15.645, and subject to the limit of its grant the 20 council shall award grants, in accordance with the priority list established by the 21 department under AS 23.15.645(b) to employment assistance and training entities. A 22 training entity is eligible for a grant under this section if the entity meets program 23 requirements and can demonstrate that 24 (1) its accounting systems include controls adequate to check the 25 accuracy and reliability of accounting data, promote operating efficiency, and assure 26 compliance with program requirements and generally accepted accounting principles; 27 and 28 (2) its activities do not replace or compete in any way with a federally 29 approved, jointly administered apprenticeship program or any other existing training 30 programs. 31 (b) The council may not award a grant if the grant would displace money
01 available through existing public or private training programs. 02 (c) To provide administration of the program, the council may use the 03 administrative entities of the substate service delivery areas. 04 (d) The council shall annually provide the department with financial and 05 performance reporting on the activities of the program and recommendations 06 concerning continuation of funding. 07 Sec. 23.15.660. DEFINITIONS. In AS 23.15.620 - 23.15.660, 08 (1) "council" means the Alaska Human Resource Investment Council 09 established in AS 44.19.620; 10 (2) "program" means the state training and employment program 11 established in AS 23.15.620 - 23.15.660; and 12 (3) "substate service delivery areas" means those areas designated by 13 the governor under 29 U.S.C. 1532. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 23.20.290(c) is amended to read: 15 (c) Beginning January 1, 1997 [JANUARY 1, 1981], the rate of contributions 16 for each employer is 80 [82] percent of the average benefit cost rate multiplied by the 17 employer's experience factor set out in column C of the table in this subsection 18 opposite the employer's applicable rate class set out in column A plus the fund 19 solvency adjustment required under (f) of this section. However, the rate of 20 contributions for an employer may not be less than one percent or more than six and 21 one-half percent. The rate of contributions for an employer in rate class 21 may not 22 be less than 5.4 percent. The rate of contributions for an employer must be rounded 23 to the nearest 1/100th [ONE-HUNDREDTH] of one percent. 24 COLUMN ACOLUMN B COLUMN C 25 Rate ClassCumulative Experience 26 Ratable Payroll Factor 27 at least but less than 28 (percent) (percent) 29 1 5 .40 30 2 5 10 .45 31 3 10 15 .50
01 5 20 25 .60 02 6 25 30 .65 03 7 30 35 .70 04 8 35 40 .80 05 9 40 45 .90 06 10 45 50 1.00 07 11 50 55 1.00 08 12 55 60 1.10 09 13 60 65 1.20 10 14 65 70 1.30 11 15 70 75 1.35 12 16 75 80 1.40 13 17 80 85 1.45 14 18 85 90 1.50 15 19 90 95 1.55 16 20 95 99.99 1.60 17 21 99.99 1.65. 18 * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.290(d) is amended to read: 19 (d) Beginning January 1, 1997 [JANUARY 1, 1981], and for each succeeding 20 year thereafter, the rate of contributions payable by each employee of an employer 21 who is subject to AS 23.20.165 is 20 [18] percent of the average benefit cost rate as 22 determined in (e) of this section rounded to the nearest 1/100th [ONE-TENTH] of one 23 percent. However, the rate of contributions for an employee may not be less than one- 24 half percent or more than one percent. 25 * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.350(d) is amended to read: 26 (d) An individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to receive 27 the weekly benefit amount set out in column (B) of the table in this subsection that is 28 opposite the amount set out in column (A) of the individual's base period wages 29 determined under (c) of this section: 30 (A) (B) 31 Base Period Wages Weekly Benefit
01 Amount 02 At least But less than 03 0 1,000 $ 0 04 1,000 1,250 44 05 1,250 1,500 46 06 1,500 1,750 48 07 1,750 2,000 50 08 2,000 2,250 52 09 2,250 2,500 54 10 2,500 2,750 56 11 2,750 3,000 58 12 3,000 3,250 60 13 3,250 3,500 62 14 3,500 3,750 64 15 3,750 4,000 66 16 4,000 4,250 68 17 4,250 4,500 70 18 4,500 4,750 72 19 4,750 5,000 74 20 5,000 5,250 76 21 5,250 5,500 78 22 5,500 5,750 80 23 5,750 6,000 82 24 6,000 6,250 84 25 6,250 6,500 86 26 6,500 6,750 88 27 6,750 7,000 90 28 7,000 7,250 92 29 7,250 7,500 94 30 7,500 7,750 96 31 7,750 8,000 98
01 8,000 8,250 100 02 8,250 8,500 102 03 8,500 8,750 104 04 8,750 9,000 106 05 9,000 9,250 108 06 9,250 9,500 110 07 9,500 9,750 112 08 9,750 10,000 114 09 10,000 10,250 116 10 10,250 10,500 118 11 10,500 10,750 120 12 10,750 11,000 122 13 11,000 11,250 124 14 11,250 11,500 126 15 11,500 11,750 128 16 11,750 12,000 130 17 12,000 12,250 132 18 12,250 12,500 134 19 12,500 12,750 136 20 12,750 13,000 138 21 13,000 13,250 140 22 13,250 13,500 142 23 13,500 13,750 144 24 13,750 14,000 146 25 14,000 14,250 148 26 14,250 14,500 150 27 14,500 14,750 152 28 14,750 15,000 154 29 15,000 15,250 156 30 15,250 15,500 158 31 15,500 15,750 160
01 15,750 16,000 162 02 16,000 16,250 164 03 16,250 16,500 166 04 16,500 16,750 168 05 16,750 17,000 170 06 17,000 17,250 172 07 17,250 17,500 174 08 17,500 17,750 176 09 17,750 18,000 178 10 18,000 18,250 180 11 18,250 18,500 182 12 18,500 18,750 184 13 18,750 19,000 186 14 19,000 19,250 188 15 19,250 19,500 190 16 19,500 19,750 192 17 19,750 20,000 194 18 20,000 20,250 196 19 20,250 20,500 198 20 20,500 20,750 200 21 20,750 21,000 202 22 21,000 21,250 204 23 21,250 21,500 206 24 21,500 21,750 208 25 21,750 22,000 210 26 22,000 22,250 212 27 22,250 22,500 214 [212] 28 22,500 22,750 216 29 22,750 23,000 218 30 23,000 23,250 220 31 23,250 23,500 222
01 23,500 23,750 224 02 23,750 24,000 226 03 24,000 24,250 228 04 24,250 24,500 230 05 24,500 24,750 232 06 24,750 25,000 234 07 25,000 25,250 236 08 25,250 25,500 238 09 25,500 25,750 240 10 25,750 26,000 242 11 26,000 26,250 244 12 26,250 26,500 246 13 26,500 26,750 248 14 26,750 248. 15 * Sec. 6. AS 23.15.620, 23.15.625, 23.15.630, 23.15.635, 23.15.640, 23.15.645, 23.15.651, 16 and 23.15.660 are repealed June 30, 1998. 17 * Sec. 7. Sections 3 - 5 of this Act apply to benefit years for unemployment insurance 18 beginning on or after January 1, 1997. 19 * Sec. 8. Sections 1 and 2 of this Act take effect July 1, 1996. 20 * Sec. 9. Sections 3 - 5 and 7 of this Act take effect January 1, 1997.