Bill Text: CA AB524 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Unemployment insurance: employer contributions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-01 - Died at Desk. [AB524 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB524-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 524 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Garrick
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
An act to amend Section 803 of the Unemployment Insurance Code,
relating to unemployment insurance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 524, as introduced, Garrick. Unemployment insurance: employer
contributions.
Existing law governing unemployment insurance benefits authorizes
specified employing entities to elect a method of financing coverage,
and in lieu of the contributions required of employers, to elect to
follow one of specified alternative procedures.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 803 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
803. (a) As used in this section, "entity" means any employing
unit that is authorized by any provision of Article 4 (commencing
with Section 701) or by Section 801 or 802 to elect a method of
financing coverage permitted by this section.
(b) In lieu of the contributions required of employers, an entity
may elect any one of the following:
(1) To pay into the Unemployment Fund the cost of benefits,
including extended duration benefits and federal-state extended
benefits, paid based on base period wages with respect to employment
for the entity and charged to its account in the manner provided
by in Section 1026, pursuant to
authorized regulations that shall prescribe the rate or amount, time,
manner, and method of payment or advance payment or providing a good
and sufficient bond to guarantee payment of contributions.
(2) Two or more entities may, pursuant to authorized regulations,
file an application with the director for the establishment of a
joint account for the purpose of determining the rate of
contributions they shall pay into the Unemployment Fund to reimburse
the fund for benefits paid with respect to employment for those
entities. The members of the joint account may share the cost of
benefits, including extended duration benefits and federal-state
extended benefits, paid based on the base period wages with respect
to employment for those members and charged to the joint account in
the manner provided by in Section 1026.
The director shall prescribe authorized regulations for the
establishment, maintenance, and dissolution of joint accounts, and
for the rate or amount, time, manner, and method of payment or
advance payment or providing a good and sufficient bond to guarantee
payment of contributions by the members of joint accounts, on the
cost of benefits charged in the manner provided by
in Section 1026.
(c) Sections 1030, 1031, 1032, and 1032.5, and any provision of
this division for the noncharging of benefits to the account of an
employer, shall not apply to an election under
pursuant to subdivision (b). The cost of benefits charged
to an entity under this section shall include, but not be limited to,
benefits or payments improperly paid in excess of a weekly benefit
amount, or in excess of a maximum benefit amount, or otherwise in
excess of the amount that should have been paid, due to any
computational or other error of any type by the Employment
Development Department or the Department of Benefit Payments, whether
or not the error could be anticipated.
(d) In making the payments prescribed by subdivision (b), there
shall be paid or credited to the Unemployment Fund, either in advance
or by way of reimbursement, as may be determined by the director,
any sums he or she estimates the Unemployment Fund will be entitled
to receive from each entity for each calendar quarter, reduced or
increased by any sum by which he or she finds that his or her
estimates for any prior calendar quarter were greater or less than
the amounts which should have been paid to the fund. The estimates
may be made upon the basis of statistical sampling, or any other
method as may be determined by the director.
Upon making that determination, the director shall give notice of
the determination, pursuant to Section 1206, to the entity. The
director may cancel any contributions or portion thereof that he or
she finds has been erroneously determined.
The director shall charge to any special fund, that is responsible
for the salary of any employee of an entity, the amount determined
by the director for which the fund is liable pursuant to this
section. The contributions due from the entity shall be paid from the
liable special fund, the General Fund, or other liable fund to the
Unemployment Fund by the Controller or other officer or person
responsible for disbursements on behalf of the entity within 30 days
of the date of mailing of the director's notice of determination to
the entity. The director for good cause may extend for not to exceed
60 days the time for paying without penalty the amount determined and
required to be paid. Contributions are due upon the date of mailing
of the notice of determination and are delinquent if not paid on or
before the 30th day following the date of mailing of the notice.
(e) Any entity that fails to pay the contributions required within
the time required shall be liable for interest on the contributions
at the adjusted annual rate and by the method established pursuant to
Section 19521 of the Revenue and Taxation Code from and after the
date of delinquency until paid, and any entity that without good
cause fails to pay any contributions required within the time
required shall pay a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the
contributions. If the entity fails to pay the contributions required
on or before the delinquency date, the director may assess the entity
for the amount required by the notice of determination. This
subdivision shall not apply to employers electing financing under
Section 821, for amounts due after December 31, 1992.
(f) Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) of Chapter 4 of Part
1 with respect to the assessment of contributions, and Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 1701) of Part 1 with respect to the
collection of contributions, shall apply to the assessments provided
by this section. Sections 1177 to 1184, inclusive, relating to
refunds and overpayments, shall apply to amounts paid to the
Unemployment Fund pursuant to this section. Sections 1222, 1223,
1224, 1241, and 1242 shall apply to matters arising under this
section.
(g) (1) The director may terminate the election of any entity for
financing under this section if the entity is delinquent in the
payment of advances or reimbursements required by the director under
this section. After any termination the entity may again make an
election pursuant to this section but only if it is not delinquent in
the payment of contributions and not delinquent in the payment of
advances or reimbursements required by the director under this
section.
(2) In the case of an Indian tribe (as described by subsection (u)
of Section 3306 of Title 26 of the United States Code), the director
shall terminate all elections for the tribe and all subdivisions,
subsidiaries, and business enterprises wholly owned by that tribe if
the tribe or any subdivision, subsidiary, or business enterprise
wholly owned by that tribe is more than 90 days delinquent in the
payment of contributions, bonds, advances, reimbursements, or
applicable penalties or interest required under this code, after
notice to the tribe. After any termination the Indian tribe may again
make an election pursuant to this section but only if it is not
delinquent in the payment of contributions, bonds, advances,
reimbursements, or applicable penalties or interest required under
this code.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
no an entity shall not be liable for
that portion of any extended duration benefits or federal-state
extended benefits that is reimbursed or reimbursable by the federal
government to the State of California.
(i) After the termination of any election under this section, the
entity shall remain liable for its proportionate share of the cost of
benefits paid and charged to its account in the manner provided by
Section 1026, which are based on wages paid for services during the
period of the election. That liability may be charged against any
remaining balance of a prior reserve account used by the entity
pursuant to Section 712 or 713. Any portion of the remaining balance
shall be included in the reserve account of the entity following any
termination of an election under this section which occurs prior to
the expiration of a period of three consecutive years commencing with
the effective date of the election. For purposes of Section 982, the
period of an election under Section 803 shall, to the extent
permitted by federal law, be included as a period during which a
reserve account has been subject to benefit charges.
