Bill Text: TX HB2907 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to measures to prevent and address fraud in the administration of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act; providing an administrative penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-16 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [HB2907 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2907-Engrossed.html

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88R9999 RDS-F
By: Button H.B. No. 2907

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to measures to prevent and address fraud in the
administration of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act;
providing an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 203.201(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The special administration fund consists of:
(1) all interest and penalties collected under this
subtitle, other than a penalty assessed under Section 214.003
[214.003(a)(2)]; and
(2) any amounts received under any surety bond for
losses sustained by the special administration fund.
SECTION 2. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed
individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if
the individual:
(1) has registered for work at an employment office
and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
rules adopted by the commission;
(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section
208.001;
(3) is able to work;
(4) is available for work;
(5) is actively seeking work in accordance with rules
adopted by the commission;
(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
credits:
(A) in at least two calendar quarters; and
(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the
individual's benefit amount;
(7) after the beginning date of the individual's most
recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;
(8) has been totally or partially unemployed for a
waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; [and]
(9) participates in reemployment services, such as a
job search assistance service, if the individual has been
determined, according to a profiling system established by the
commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
unless:
(A) the individual has completed participation
in such a service; or
(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
those services; and
(10) has verified the individual's identity in
accordance with rules adopted by the commission, which may include
requiring the individual to verify the individual's identity:
(A) by telephone or other electronic means;
(B) by an in-person meeting; or
(C) through an application developed by a
third-party vendor.
SECTION 3. Section 214.003, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b-1) If a person intentionally or knowingly makes a
materially false statement or misrepresentation to obtain benefits
in the name of another person:
(1) the person:
(A) forfeits:
(i) the benefit received; and
(ii) rights to benefits that remain in the
benefit year in which the false statement or misrepresentation
occurred; and
(B) is liable for the amount of the benefit
received, which may be recovered in the manner provided by Section
212.006 or 214.002, as applicable; and
(2) the commission shall require the person to pay a
penalty in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount forfeited
under Subdivision (1)(A)(i).
(d) A person who is assessed a penalty by the commission
under this section [Subsection (a)(2)] is liable for the amount of
the penalty. The commission may collect the penalty in the same
manner as provided by Sections 212.006 and 214.002 [213.031,
213.032, 213.033, 213.035, and 213.051] for the collection of
past-due contributions. The commission shall deposit a penalty
assessed under this section [Subsection (a)(2)] in the unemployment
compensation fund established under Section 203.021.
SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 301.087 to read as follows:
Sec. 301.087. CERTAIN FRAUD DETECTION INFORMATION NOT
PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) In this section, "fraud detection
information" means any information, including risk assessments,
reports, data, protocols, technology specifications, manuals,
instructions, investigative materials, crossmatches, mental
impressions, and communications, that may reveal the methods or
means by which the commission prevents, investigates, or evaluates
fraud in its administration of Subtitle A.
(b) Fraud detection information is not public information
for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, and is excepted from
the requirements of Section 552.021 of that code.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the
Texas Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this
Act. A claim filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.