88R6956 RDS-F
	By: Creighton	S.B. No. 1847

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for unemployment
	benefits and the validity of certain claims for unemployment
	benefits submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  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:
	(A)  is actively seeking work; and
	(B)  during each week of the benefit period,
	performed at least four of the following work search activities,
	subject to verification by the commission:
	(i)  completed and submitted an application
	for a job, other than an application submitted while attending a job
	fair;
	(ii)  submitted a resume to an employer that
	advertised an active job opening;
	(iii)  attended a job fair and submitted at
	least one application for a job while attending the job fair;
	(iv)  participated in a job interview;
	(v)  after submitting a resume or
	application or participating in a job interview, responded to an
	employer's inquiry; or
	(vi)  participated in a work search or
	professional training sponsored or approved 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.
	SECTION 2.  Section 207.047, Labor Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
	follows:
	(a)  An individual is disqualified for benefits if during the
	individual's current benefit year, the individual failed, without
	good cause, to:
	(1)  apply for available, suitable work when directed
	to do so by the commission;
	(2)  accept suitable work offered to the individual;
	[or]
	(3)  return to the individual's customary
	self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the commission;
	or
	(4)  respond to an employer's request for an interview
	or to attend a scheduled interview.
	(c)  An employer shall report to the commission any
	individual who:
	(1)  refuses to return to work;
	(2)  refuses a suitable offer of employment;
	(3)  fails to respond to the employer's request for an
	interview; or
	(4)  fails to attend a scheduled interview.
	SECTION 3.  Section 208.021(b), Labor Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  For each valid initial claim, the commission shall
	determine:
	(1)  the claimant's identity;
	(2)  the claimant's benefit year;
	(3) [(2)]  the benefit amount for total unemployment;
	and
	(4) [(3)]  the duration of benefits.
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 208, Labor Code, is
	amended by adding Sections 208.0211 and 208.0212 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 208.0211.  DETERMINATION OF CLAIM VALIDITY. (a) In
	determining the validity of a claim under Section 208.021, the
	commission shall cross-check all new and recurring claims against:
	(1)  the integrity data hub operated by the National
	Association of State Workforce Agencies;
	(2)  the national directory of new hires maintained by
	the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement and a directory of
	new hires maintained by any other state;
	(3)  death records maintained by this state;
	(4)  records of persons who are incarcerated maintained
	by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau
	of Prisons; and
	(5)  the multifactor authentication mechanism
	established under Subsection (b).
	(b)  For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under
	this section, the commission shall establish a multifactor
	authentication mechanism to verify the identity of a claimant who
	files a claim with the commission using the commission's Internet
	website. The multifactor authentication mechanism must verify at
	least two forms of identification submitted by the claimant.
	(c)  The commission shall perform an additional cross-check
	and identity determination in the manner described by Subsections
	(a) and (b), as applicable, for each claim in which more than one
	claim is filed:
	(1)  using the commission's Internet website and
	originating from the same Internet protocol address;
	(2)  by mail using the same mailing address; or
	(3)  in association with the same bank account.
	(d)  The commission shall enter into a data-sharing
	agreement with each state agency that administers a social welfare
	program. The data-sharing agreement must provide that the state
	agency notify the commission if a person enrolled in a social
	welfare program administered by the agency becomes employed. For
	purposes of this subsection, "state agency" means a board,
	commission, department, or other agency in the executive branch of
	state government.
	(e)  On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid
	claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits
	immediately.
	Sec. 208.0212.  ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than March 1 of
	each year, the commission shall submit a report to the legislature
	relating to the validity of claims submitted to the commission
	under this chapter. The report must include:
	(1)  the percentage of claims for benefits for which
	the commission was unable to perform a cross-check, as required by
	Section 208.0211, before paying or continuing to pay benefits under
	this subtitle during the preceding calendar year;
	(2)  the total amount of benefits paid to claimants who
	the commission later found made false statements in their claims
	for those benefits during the preceding calendar year;
	(3)  the number of invalid claims that the commission
	determined were invalid by conducting a cross-check required by
	Section 208.0211 and the estimated dollar amount of savings to this
	state, determined by the commission based on:
	(A)  the number of claims the commission
	determined were invalid under this subdivision;
	(B)  the average number of weeks each claimant
	received benefits under this subtitle; and
	(C)  the average weekly benefit amount
	distributed to each claimant under this subtitle; and
	(4)  for the total amount of benefits paid for invalid
	claims during the preceding calendar year, a list of at least four
	of the primary reasons why the commission was not able to recover
	those benefit payments.
	SECTION 5.  Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  If, by wilful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a
	material fact, whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation is
	made by the person or for the person by another, a person receives a
	benefit when a condition imposed by this subtitle for the person's
	qualifying for the benefit is not fulfilled or the person is
	disqualified from receiving the benefit:
	(1)  the person forfeits the:
	(A)  benefit received; [and]
	(B)  rights to benefits that remain in the benefit
	year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; and
	(C)  rights to any benefits under this subtitle
	until the earlier of:
	(i)  the end of the fifth calendar year
	following the last day of the benefit year in which the
	nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; or
	(ii)  the date that the commission recovered
	from the claimant any benefits received by wilful nondisclosure or
	misrepresentation of a material fact and any penalty imposed under
	this section; 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).
	(b)  If a person attempts to obtain or increase benefits by a
	nondisclosure or misrepresentation as provided by Subsection (a),
	the commission shall [may] cancel the person's right to benefits
	that remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
	misrepresentation occurred and the person shall forfeit rights to
	any benefit under this subtitle until the end of the fifth calendar
	year following the last day of the benefit year in which the
	attempted nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred.
	SECTION 6.  The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 7.  This Act takes effect October 1, 2023.