Public Act 269 of 2011

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• Introduced by Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R) on November 9, 2011, to revise various elements of the state unemployment insurance social welfare system. This is part of a package with Senate Bills 483 and 484, which authorize state borrowing to pay off some $3.2 billion owed to the federal government to cover benefit payments that exceeded payroll tax collections over several years. The bills would revise the formulas for assessing these payroll taxes on employers, require beneficiaries to accept alternative work at lower pay than currently required, increase required job-search disclosures and reporting by beneficiaries, and more.
  • Referred to the Senate Finance Committee on November 9, 2011.
    • Reported in the Senate on December 1, 2011, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on December 1, 2011, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance as previously described. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Tupac Hunter (D) on December 1, 2011, to undo a recent change that reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks the amount of time a laid off employee can collect state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Steve Bieda (D) on December 1, 2011, to strip out a provision that would require documentation from a medical professonal for an employee who quit a job medical reasons (and so is still eligible for unemployment benefits). The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 1, 2011, to strip out a provision that under which only wages earned after enactment of this bill would be used to determine unemployment benefits under a narrow set of circumstances described in the provision. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) on December 1, 2011, to index state unemployment benefit levels to inflation. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. John Gleason (D) on December 1, 2011, to increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate from $362 to $372. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. John Gleason (D) on December 1, 2011, to increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate for each dependent from $6 to $20. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Bert Johnson (D) on December 1, 2011, to strip out a provision that would require a person to take any job after half the number of weeks for which he or she is eligible for benefits, even if the job is outside the person's usual field, pays at least the state "minumum wage," and the pay exceeds the person's weekly unemployment benefit by at least 20 percent. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Bert Johnson (D) on December 1, 2011, to undo a recent change that reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks the amount of time a laid off employee can collect state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The amendment failed 12 to 22 in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Vincent Gregory (D) on December 1, 2011, to authorize unemployment insurance benefits for employees in a “work sharing” program, in which an employer temporarily reduces employee hours when business is depressed. The bill would establish detailed regulations that employer work sharing programs would have to meet for employees to still be eligible for unemployment benefits. This is essentially the proposal in Senate Bill 687. Note: Although the amendment originally passed, upon later reconsider it was rejected. Reportedly, Sen. Bruce Caswell plans to take up a similar measure in 2012. The amendment passed 23 to 11 in the Senate on December 1, 2011.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Passed 23 to 11 in the Senate on December 1, 2011, to revise various elements of the state unemployment insurance social welfare system. This is part of the package authorizing state borrowing to pay off some $3.2 billion in unemployment system debt, owed because benefit payments exceeded payroll tax revenues (see Senate Bills 483 and 484). The bill would revise the formulas for assessing these payroll taxes on employers; require beneficiaries to accept alternative work at lower pay than currently required; increase required job-search disclosures and reporting by beneficiaries; clarify factors making an employee ineligible for unemployment benefits (like stealing or absenteeism); and more.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on December 1, 2011.
  • Referred to the House Commerce Committee on December 1, 2011.
    • Reported in the House on December 13, 2011, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the House on December 14, 2011, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance as previously described. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Brandon Dillon (D) on December 14, 2011, to tie-bar the bill to House Bill 4681, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 4691 would exempt state and federal unemployment benefits from the state income tax, a current exemption that was mistakenly left out of an overhaul of the state tax system adopted earlier in 2011. Reportedly legislative leaders intend to reinstate the exemption, but have hesitated becauae of the likelihood that poltically "uncomfortable" amendments will be offered to undo some of the earlier tax system changes, including the (intentional) removal of a tax exemption for certain pension benefits. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Paul D. Clemente (D) on December 14, 2011, to tie-bar the bill to House Bill 5144, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 5144 would authorize a business tax break of up to $4,000 for hiring a military veteran who has been unemployed for at least 60 days, with some exceptions. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Paul D. Clemente (D) on December 14, 2011, to tie-bar the bill to House Bill 5200, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 5200 would give business tax breaks of up to $3,000 to businesses for each employee they hire for at least a year who affirms that he or she has been unemployed for at least 60 days, subject to various conditions and restrictions. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Jon Switalski (D) on December 14, 2011, to undo a recent change that reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks the amount of time a laid off employee can collect state unemployment insurance benefits. The amendment failed 46 to 62 in the House on December 14, 2011.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on December 14, 2011, to limit to 20 percent the amount of unemployment benefits that can be garnished under a court order on a individual who owes a debt to another person. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Jim Townsend (D) on December 14, 2011, to revise a provision that reduces a person's unemployment benefits if the amount they have been receiving is more than it should be. The bill would allow current benefits to be cut by 50 percent, and the amendment would cut this back to 20 percent (the same as under current law). The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Farrington (R) on December 14, 2011, to establish that a person does not lose eligibility for unemployment benefits for accepting "a referral to another employer from a union hiring hall". The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 14, 2011, to not impose a higher unemployment insurance tax ("assessment") on the employer of a military spouse who leaves workd and collects unemployment benefits because his or her spouse was reassigned to a different location. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Andrea LaFontaine (R) on December 14, 2011, to allow a person collecting unemployment benefits to take a part time job and still collect benefits, but at a lower level. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on December 14, 2011.
• Passed 61 to 47 in the House on December 14, 2011, to revise various elements of the state unemployment insurance social welfare system. This is part of the package authorizing state borrowing to pay off some $3.2 billion in unemployment system debt, owed because benefit payments exceeded payroll tax revenues (see Senate Bills 483 and 484). The bill would revise the formulas for assessing these payroll taxes on employers; require beneficiaries to accept alternative work at lower pay than currently required; increase required job-search disclosures and reporting by beneficiaries; clarify factors making an employee ineligible for unemployment benefits (like stealing or absenteeism); and more. It would also make employees in a “work sharing” program eligible for unemployment benefits.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the Senate on December 14, 2011.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. John Gleason (D) on December 14, 2011, to increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate from $362 to $372. The amendment failed 12 to 25 in the Senate on December 14, 2011.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Vincent Gregory (D) on December 14, 2011, to authorize unemployment insurance benefits for employees in a “work sharing” program, in which an employer temporarily reduces employee hours when business is depressed. The bill would establish detailed regulations that employer work sharing programs would have to meet for employees to still be eligible for unemployment benefits. This is essentially the proposal in Senate Bill 687. The amendment failed 11 to 26 in the Senate on December 14, 2011.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Passed 26 to 12 in the Senate on December 14, 2011, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on December 19, 2011.