BILL ANALYSIS AB 2055 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 2055 (De La Torre) - As Amended: April 13, 2010 Policy Committee: Insurance Vote:8-4 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill treats individuals with pending domestic partnership status in a similar fashion to individuals for whom marriage is "imminent" for the purposes of unemployment insurance (UI) eligibility. Specifically, this bill adds domestic partnership to statutes currently governing UI eligibility when a fianc?e leaves employment to accompany a domestic partner to a place from which it is impractical to commute to the previous job. FISCAL EFFECT Costs of $200,000 to $400,000 from the Unemployment Trust Fund (employer financed special fund) for each 25 to 50 individuals who qualify for 26 weeks of unemployment benefits under provisions established by this bill. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . This bill is sponsored by Equality California. This bill allows individuals who are close to being registered domestic partners and who need to move away from employment to join their future spouse to be eligible for UI benefits. 2)UI Benefits . The UI program is a federal-state program that provides weekly UI payments to eligible workers who lose jobs through no fault of their own. The UI program is financed by unemployment tax contributions paid by employers for each worker. During relatively low rates of unemployment, eligible individuals receive weekly UI payments for up to 26 weeks. Due to current high rates of unemployment the federal government has provided emergency extensions to these benefits. AB 2055 Page 2 California, a state with one of the highest unemployment rates nationally (now over 12%) has qualified for the lengthiest extension of benefits available to states. Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081