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HB 192

Alaska House•In House Committee

Summary

HB 192, “Unemployment Benefits”, was introduced in the House on Apr 14, 2025 by Rep. Ted Eischeid (D). It was referred to Labor & Commerce, and last saw action on Apr 14, 2025: REFERRED TO LABOR & COMMERCE.

Record

Text

HB 192 has no co-sponsors and has not gone to a roll call.

hb192/introduced.txt
                                                                                34-LS0663\N
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 192
                      IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
                      THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
 BY REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID
 Introduced: 4/14/25
 Referred: Labor and Commerce, Finance
                                            A BILL
                                  FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
 "An Act relating to the payment of unemployment compensation benefits; relating to a
 penalty for late unemployment benefit payments; relating to inflation adjustments to
 unemployment benefit amounts; relating to an insured worker's availability for work;
 and providing for an effective date."
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
  * Section 1. AS 23.20.340(d) is amended to read:
(d) Unless the claimant is determined to be disqualified for benefits under
AS 23.20.360, 23.20.362, 23.20.375, 23.20.378 - 23.20.387, or 23.20.505, benefits
shall be promptly paid in accordance with the initial determination or subsequent
redetermination. The department may not delay payment of an approved weekly
benefit because of a holiday. A penalty payment equal to 10 percent of the benefit
due shall be paid to the claimant for each day the payment is late.
  * Sec. 2. AS 23.20.340(f) is amended to read:
(f)    If a determination of disqualification under AS 23.20.360, 23.20.362,
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23.20.375, 23.20.378 - 23.20.387, or 23.20.505 is made, the claimant shall be
promptly notified of the determination and the reasons for it. The claimant and other
interested parties as defined by regulations of the department may appeal the
determination in the same manner prescribed in this chapter for appeals of initial
determinations and redeterminations. Benefits may not be paid while a determination
is being appealed for any week for which the determination of disqualification was
made. However, if a decision on the appeal allows benefits to the claimant, those
benefits must be paid within 24 hours, including weekends and holidays. If the
benefits are not paid within 24 hours, a penalty payment equal to 10 percent of
the benefits due shall be paid to the claimant for each day the payment is late
[PROMPTLY].
  * Sec. 3. AS 23.20.340 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
(h) The department shall develop a contingency plan for periods when the call
center call volume may exceed the capacity of the call center. An insured worker may
not be disqualified from benefits, or have benefits reduced, for failure to timely
provide information through a call center if, during the week the information was due,
the volume of calls received by the call center exceeded the capacity of the call center
to accept calls.
  * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.350(d) is amended to read:
(d) An individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to receive
the weekly benefit amount set out in column (B) of the table in this subsection that is
opposite the amount set out in column (A) of the individual's base period wages
determined under (c) of this section:
(A)  (B)
Base Period Wages  Weekly Benefit
Amount
At least  But less than
0  2,500  $ 0
2,500  2,750  56
2,750  3,000  58
3,000  3,250  60
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3,250  3,500  62
3,500  3,750  64
3,750  4,000  66
4,000  4,250  68
4,250  4,500  70
4,500  4,750  72
4,750  5,000  74
5,000  5,250  76
5,250  5,500  78
5,500  5,750  80
5,750  6,000  82
6,000  6,250  84
6,250  6,500  86
6,500  6,750  88
6,750  7,000  90
7,000  7,250  92
7,250  7,500  94
7,500  7,750  96
7,750  8,000  98
8,000  8,250  100
8,250  8,500  102
8,500  8,750  104
8,750  9,000  106
9,000  9,250  108
9,250  9,500  110
9,500  9,750  112
9,750  10,000  114
10,000  10,250  116
10,250  10,500  118
10,500  10,750  120
10,750  11,000  122
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11,000  11,250  124
11,250  11,500  126
11,500  11,750  128
11,750  12,000  130
12,000  12,250  132
12,250  12,500  134
12,500  12,750  136
12,750  13,000  138
13,000  13,250  140
13,250  13,500  142
13,500  13,750  144
13,750  14,000  146
14,000  14,250  148
14,250  14,500  150
14,500  14,750  152
14,750  15,000  154
15,000  15,250  156
15,250  15,500  158
15,500  15,750  160
15,750  16,000  162
16,000  16,250  164
16,250  16,500  166
16,500  16,750  168
16,750  17,000  170
17,000  17,250  172
17,250  17,500  174
17,500  17,750  176
17,750  18,000  178
18,000  18,250  180
18,250  18,500  182
18,500  18,750  184
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18,750  19,000  186
19,000  19,250  188
19,250  19,500  190
19,500  19,750  192
19,750  20,000  194
20,000  20,250  196
20,250  20,500  198
20,500  20,750  200
20,750  21,000  202
21,000  21,250  204
21,250  21,500  206
21,500  21,750  208
21,750  22,000  210
22,000  22,250  212
22,250  22,500  214
22,500  22,750  216
22,750  23,000  218
23,000  23,250  220
23,250  23,500  222
23,500  23,750  224
23,750  24,000  226
24,000  24,250  228
24,250  24,500  230
24,500  24,750  232
24,750  25,000  234
25,000  25,250  236
25,250  25,500  238
25,500  25,750  240
25,750  26,000  242
26,000  26,250  244
26,250  26,500  246
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26,500  26,750  248
26,750  27,000  250
27,000  27,250  252
27,250  27,500  254
27,500  27,750  256
27,750  28,000  258
28,000  28,250  260
28,250  28,500  262
28,500  28,750  264
28,750  29,000  266
29,000  29,250  268
29,250  29,500  270
29,500  29,750  272
29,750  30,000  274
30,000  30,250  276
30,250  30,500  278
30,500  30,750  280
30,750  31,000  282
31,000  31,250  284
31,250  31,500  286
31,500  31,750  288
31,750  32,000  290
32,000  32,250  292
32,250  32,500  294
32,500  32,750  296
32,750  33,000  298
33,000  33,250  300
33,250  33,500  302
33,500  33,750  304
33,750  34,000  306
34,000  34,250  308
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34,250  34,500  310
34,500  34,750  312
34,750  35,000  314
35,000  35,250  316
35,250  35,500  318
35,500  35,750  320
35,750  36,000  322
36,000  36,250  324
36,250  36,500  326
36,500  36,750  328
36,750  37,000  330
37,000  37,250  332
37,250  37,500  334
37,500  37,750  336
37,750  38,000  338
38,000  38,250  340
38,250  38,500  342
38,500  38,750  344
38,750  39,000  346
39,000  39,250  348
39,250  39,500  350
39,500  39,750  352
39,750  40,000  354
40,000  40,250  356
40,250  40,500  358
40,500  40,750  360
40,750  41,000  362
41,000  41,250  364
41,250  41,500  366
41,500  41,750  368
41,750  42,000  370
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42,000  42,250  372
42,250  42,500  374
42,500  42,750  376
42,750  43,000  378
43,000  43,250  380
43,250  43,500  382
43,500  43,750  384
43,750  44,000  386
44,000  44,250  388
44,250  44,500  390
44,500  44,750  392
44,750  45,000  394
45,000  45,250  396
45,250  45,500  398
45,500  45,750  400
45,750  46,000  402
46,000  46,250  404
46,250  46,500  406
46,500  46,750  408
46,750  47,000  410
47,000  47,250  412
47,250  47,500  414
47,500  47,750  416
47,750  48,000  418
48,000  48,250  420
48,250  48,500  422
48,500  48,750  424
48,750  49,000  426
49,000  49,250  428
49,250  49,500  430
49,500  49,750  432
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49,750  50,000  434
50,000  50,250  436
50,250  50,500  438
50,500  50,750  440
50,750  51,000  442
51,000  51,250  444
51,250  51,500  446
51,500  51,750  448
51,750  52,000  450
52,000  52,250  452
52,250  52,500  454
52,500  52,750  456
52,750  53,000  458
53,000  53,250  460
53,250  53,500  462
53,500  53,750  464
53,750  54,000  466
54,000  54,250  468
54,250  54,500  470
54,500  54,750  472
54,750  55,000  474
55,000  55,250  476
55,250  55,500  478
55,500  55,750  480
55,750  56,000  482
56,000  56,250  484
56,250  56,500  486
56,500  56,750  488
56,750  57,000  490
57,000  57,250  492
57,250  57,500  494
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57,500  57,750  496
57,750  58,000  498
58,000  58,250  500
58,250  58,500  502
58,500  58,750  504
58,750  59,000  506
59,000  59,250  508
59,250  59,500  510
59,500  59,750  512
59,750  60,000  514
60,000  60,250  516
60,250  60,500  518
60,500  60,750  520
60,750  61,000  522
61,000  61,250  524
61,250  61,500  526
61,500  61,750  528
61,750  62,000  530 [370].
  * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.350(f) is amended to read:
(f) An individual who establishes a benefit year is eligible for an allowance for
dependents in addition to the individual's weekly benefit amount. The department may
require an individual claiming or receiving an allowance for dependents to produce
income tax returns, birth certificates, notices of adoption or custody, social security
account number of spouse, verification of support documents, or other information
necessary to verify that the allowance is payable to the individual. The allowance for
dependents
(1) is $35 [$24] per week for each dependent, except that the total
allowance for dependents paid to an individual may not exceed $105 [$72] for each
week of unemployment;
(2) is payable beginning with the week during the benefit year in
which the individual claims an allowance for the dependent and is payable for the
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remainder of the individual's eligibility for regular, extended, or supplemental
payments during the benefit year;
(3) may not be claimed for a new dependent after the end of the benefit
year or after the exhaustion of regular benefits in the benefit year. [;
(4) REPEALED
(5) REPEALED]
  * Sec. 6. AS 23.20.350 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
(h) On July 1 of each year, the department shall increase the maximum base
period wages in (d) of this section by a percentage equal to the average percentage of
increase over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the
Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and calculate new
weekly benefit amounts accordingly.
  * Sec. 7. AS 23.20.360 is amended to read:
Sec. 23.20.360. Earnings deducted from weekly benefit amount. The
amount of benefits, excluding the allowance for dependents, payable to an insured
worker for a week of unemployment shall be reduced by 75 percent of the wages
payable to the insured worker for that week that are in excess of $50. However, the
amount of benefits may not be reduced below zero. If the benefit is not a multiple of
$1, it is computed to the next higher multiple of $1. If the benefit is zero, no allowance
for dependents is payable. The reduction of benefits payable to an insured worker
shall begin the week the insured worker receives payment of wages from
employment. The insured worker shall provide to the department accurate
documentation of the date the insured worker began employment and the
employer's payroll schedule. In addition to any other penalty that may apply, the
department shall recover and remit to the unemployment trust fund
(AS 23.20.135(a)) 100 percent of any overpayment resulting from the failure of
the insured worker to provide accurate documentation of the date the insured
worker began employment or the employer's payroll schedule.
  * Sec. 8. AS 23.20.375(a) is amended to read:
(a) An insured worker is entitled to receive [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
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benefits for a week of unemployment for which the insured worker has not been
disqualified under AS 23.20.360, 23.20.362, 23.20.378 - 23.20.387, or 23.20.505 if, in
accordance with regulations adopted by the department, the insured worker has made
a claim for benefits
[(1) MADE AN INITIAL CLAIM FOR BENEFITS; AND
(2)    FOR THAT WEEK, CERTIFIED FOR WAITING-WEEK
CREDIT OR MADE A CLAIM FOR BENEFITS].
  * Sec. 9. AS 23.20.378(a) is amended to read:
(a) An insured worker is entitled to receive [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
benefits for a week of unemployment if for that week the insured worker is able to
work and available for suitable work. An insured worker is not considered available
for work unless registered for work in accordance with regulations adopted by the
department. An insured worker may not be disqualified for failure to comply with this
subsection if
(1) the insured worker is not available for work because the insured
worker
(A) is ill or disabled;
(B) is traveling to obtain medical services that are not available
in the area in which the insured worker resides, or, if a physician determines it
is necessary, the insured worker is accompanying a spouse or dependent who is
traveling to obtain medical services;
(C) resides in the state and is noncommercially hunting or
fishing for personal survival or the survival of dependents;
(D) is serving as a prospective or impaneled juror in a court;
[OR]
(E) is attending the funeral of an immediate family member for
a period of not [NO] longer than seven days;
(F) is, for two weeks or less, traveling outside of the area in
which the insured worker customarily commutes and the insured worker
has
(i)   demonstrated that, during the relevant base
 HB 192  -12-  HB0192a
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                                                                                     34-LS0663\N
period, the insured worker was permitted, on average, to work
remotely at least 50 percent of the time; or
(ii) accepted an offer of work that begins after the
insured worker's return from travel, and the insured worker
provides documentation that an earlier start date was not
available; [AND]
(2) a condition described in (1)(A) - (E) [(1)] of this subsection occurs
during an uninterrupted period of unemployment immediately following a week for
which the insured worker has filed a compensable claim, and work has not been
offered that would have been suitable for the insured worker before the illness,
disability, hunting, fishing, medical travel, jury service, or funeral attendance.
  * Sec. 10. AS 23.20.378(c) is amended to read:
(c) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
benefits for a week of unemployment while the insured worker is pursuing an
academic education. A disqualification under this subsection begins with the first
week of academic instruction and ends with the week immediately before the first full
week in which the insured worker is no longer pursuing an academic education.
However, an insured worker who has been pursuing an academic education for at least
one school term and who was working at least 30 hours a week during a significant
portion of the time that the worker was pursuing an academic education is not
disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] benefits under this subsection if the
worker's academic schedule does not preclude full-time work in the worker's
occupation and if the insured worker became unemployed because the worker was laid
off or the worker's job was eliminated. In this subsection,
(1) "pursuing an academic education" means attending an established
school in a course of study providing academic instruction of 10 or more credit hours
per week, or the equivalent;
(2)    "school" includes primary schools, secondary schools, and
institutions of higher education.
  * Sec. 11. AS 23.20.378 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
(d) The department shall collect information about an insured worker's remote
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work history when the insured worker files a claim for benefits.
  * Sec. 12. AS 23.20.379(a) is amended to read:
(a) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
benefits for the first five weeks [WEEK] in which the insured worker is unemployed
[AND FOR THE NEXT FIVE WEEKS OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOLLOWING
THAT WEEK] if the insured worker
(1) left the insured worker's last suitable work voluntarily without
good cause; or
(2) was discharged for misconduct connected with the insured worker's
last work.
  * Sec. 13. AS 23.20.379(b) is amended to read:
(b) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
benefits for a week and the next five weeks of unemployment following that week if,
for that week, the insured worker fails without good cause
(1) to apply for available suitable work to which the insured worker
was referred by the employment office; or
(2) to accept suitable work when offered to the insured worker.
  * Sec. 14. AS 23.20.379(e) is amended to read:
(e) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
benefits for the first week in which the insured worker is unemployed and for the next
51 weeks of unemployment following that week or until the individual has worked
subsequent to the discharge from work and earned 20 times the insured worker's
weekly benefit amount in employment covered under this chapter if the insured
worker was discharged for commission of a felony or theft in connection with the
work. In addition, the insured worker is not eligible for extended benefits under this
chapter until the worker has requalified for benefits by meeting the earnings
requirement in this subsection.
  * Sec. 15. AS 23.20.382(a) is amended to read:
(a) Benefits [OR WAITING-WEEK CREDIT] for any week may not be
denied an otherwise eligible individual because the individual is attending a vocational
training or retraining course with the approval of the director of the division
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responsible for employment and training services or because, while attending the
course, the individual is not available for work or refuses an offer of work.
  * Sec. 16. AS 23.20.382(b) is amended to read:
(b)   An otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits [OR
WAITING-WEEK CREDIT] for any week because the individual is in training
approved under 19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(1) (sec. 236(a)(1), Trade Act of 1974), if
(1) while attending the training, the individual is not available for
work, fails to seek work, or refuses work; or
(2) the individual left work that was not suitable employment to enter
training.
  * Sec. 17. AS 23.20.382(d) is amended to read:
(d)   An otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits [OR
WAITING-WEEK CREDIT] for any week because the individual is in any training
approved under P.L. 105-220 (Workforce Investment Act of 1998) and, while
attending the training, is not available for work, fails to seek work, or refuses work.
  * Sec. 18. AS 23.20.383(a) is amended to read:
(a) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
benefits for a week of the insured worker's unemployment if, for that week, the
department finds the insured worker's unemployment is due to a stoppage of work
caused by a labor dispute at the immediate establishment or other premises at which
the insured worker is or was last employed. For the purposes of this section, each
separate department of the same premises that [WHICH] is commonly conducted as a
separate business in separate premises is considered a separate establishment or other
premises.
  * Sec. 19. AS 23.20.520(7) is amended to read:
(7) "claimant" means an individual who has filed a request for a
determination of insured status, a notice of unemployment, [A CERTIFICATION
FOR WAITING-WEEK CREDIT,] or a claim for benefits;
  * Sec. 20. AS 23.20.375(b) and 23.20.520(22) are repealed.
  * Sec. 21. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025.
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An Act relating to the payment of unemployment compensation benefits; relating to a penalty for late unemployment benefit payments; relating to inflation adjustments to unemployment benefit amounts; relating to an insured worker's availability for work; and providing for an effective date.

Sponsors

Rep. Ted Eischeid (D) sponsors HB 192 alone.

Ted Eischeid

Rep. · D–22 · Sponsor

Committees

HB 192 went before 1 committee: Labor & Commerce.

Labor & Commerce
Labor & Commerce
Referred to · Apr 14, 2025 · 82 Bills

History

HB 192 has taken 3 actions since Apr 14, 2025.

ChamberAction
Apr 14, 2025
House
READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
Apr 14, 2025
House
L&C, FIN
Apr 14, 2025
House
REFERRED TO LABOR & COMMERCE

Votes

HB 192 has not gone to a roll call.

Source: akleg.gov · legiscan.com