Bill Text: VA HB1766 | 2025 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

Virginia House Bill 1766

Bill Title: Unemployment compensation; increase weekly benefit amounts; report.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2025-02-19 - Passed Senate with substitute (23-Y 16-N) [HB1766 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2025-HB1766-Comm_Sub.html

2025 SESSION

SENATE SUBSTITUTE

25107054D

HOUSE BILL NO. 1766

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor

on February 10, 2025)

(Patron Prior to Substitute—Delegate Martinez)

A BILL to amend and reenact § 60.2-602 of the Code of Virginia, relating to unemployment compensation; increase weekly benefit amounts; work group; report.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 60.2-602 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 60.2-602. Weekly benefit amount.

A. Beginning July 6, 2008, for claims effective on or after July 6, 2008, but before July 6, 2014, an eligible individual's weekly "benefit amount" shall be the amount appearing in Column B in the "Benefit Table" in this section on the line on which in Column A of such table, there appears the total wages for insured work paid to such individual in the two quarters of his base period in which such total wages were highest.

Benefit Table Division C Duration of Benefits beginning July 6, 2008, but before July 6, 2014

B. Beginning July 6, 2014, for claims effective on or after July 6, 2014, but before January 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly "benefit amount" shall be the amount appearing in Column B in the "Benefit Table" in this section on the line on which in Column A of such table, there appears the total wages for insured work paid to such individual in the two quarters of his base period in which such total wages were highest.

Benefit Table Division C Duration of Benefits beginning July 6, 2014, but before January 1, 2026

C. Beginning January 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after January 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly "benefit amount" shall be the amount appearing in Column B in the "Benefit Table" in this section on the line on which in Column A of such table, there appears the total wages for insured work paid to such individual in the two quarters of his base period in which such total wages were highest.

Benefit Table Division C Duration of Benefits beginning January 1, 2026

2. That no later than October 1, 2025, the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, in consultation with the Virginia Employment Commission, shall convene a work group to meet at least once each quarter to study making annual adjustments to individual weekly benefit amounts for unemployment compensation as represented in § 60.2-602 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act. Such annual adjustments to weekly benefit amounts shall be based on the average weekly wage as determined by the Virginia Employment Commission, and the amount of each annual adjustment shall not be less than zero. The work group shall include employee stakeholder representatives and employer stakeholder representatives. The work group shall complete its meetings by July 1, 2026, and shall submit to the Governor and General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later September 1, 2026 and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.