BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1514| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1514 Author: Committee on Insurance AmendedAmended:3/26/15 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/10/15 AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Employment Development Department: training benefits: reports SOURCE: Employment Development Department DIGEST: This bill makes minor technical changes to the California Training Benefits (CTB) Program and updates the Employment Development Department (EDD) reporting requirements. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits through the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, administered by the EDD, which is a federal-state program that provides weekly UI payments to eligible workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. AB 1514 Page 2 2)Provides that an individual is eligible for UI benefits if he/she meets the following: a) Has received enough wages during the base period to establish a claim. b) Is totally or partially unemployed. c) Is unemployed through no fault of his/her own. d) Is physically able to work. e) Is available for work, meaning ready and willing to immediately accept work. f) Is actively looking for work. g) Is approved for training before training benefits are paid. (Unemployment Insurance Code §1253 et al): 3)Authorizes an unemployed individual who files a claim for UI benefits or extended duration benefits, to apply to the EDD for a determination of potential eligibility for benefits during a period of training or retraining through the CTB Program. The CTB Program allows eligible claimants to receive their UI benefits while attending training or retraining programs approved by the EDD. Claimants attending an approved training course are not required to look for work, be available for work or accept work while in training. (Unemployment Insurance Code §1268) 4)Authorizes an automatic eligibility determination for UI benefits to continue during a training program if it falls within the following (Unemployment Insurance Code §1269): a) The training is authorized by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 or by the Employment Training Panel. b) The training is authorized by the federal Trade Act of 1974. c) The individual is a participant of the CalWORKs program. AB 1514 Page 3 d) The individual is a participant in training with a provider that is certified and on the Eligible Training Provider List. e) The individual is a journey level union member and the training/retraining course of instruction is industry-related training necessary due to changes in technology, or industry demands, or is necessary to retain employment. (Unemployment Insurance Code §1269) 5)States that any unemployed individual receiving unemployment compensation benefits who applies for a determination of potential eligibility of benefits no later than the 16th week of his or her receiving these benefits, and is determined eligible is entitled to a training extension on his or her employment compensation claim, if necessary, to complete approved training. (Unemployment Insurance Code §1271) 6)States that the training extension shall provide the claimant with a maximum of 52 times the weekly benefit amount, which shall include the maximum benefit award on the parent unemployment compensation claim. (Unemployment Insurance Code §1271) 7)States that an unemployed individual who is able to work is eligible to receive benefits due to training or retraining if the director finds that the individual has been determined to be potentially eligible and the individual submits a certification from a responsible person connected with the training or retraining program certifying that he or she is enrolled in the training. (Unemployment Insurance Code §1271) 8)Provides reporting requirements to the Legislature and various state agencies on the EDD's fraud deterrence and detection activities. (Unemployment Insurance Code §§§2614, 4902 & 4903) This bill: 1)Makes minor technical changes to the CTB Program and updates the EDD reporting requirements. 2)Updates references to outdated federal workforce statutes in AB 1514 Page 4 sections governing the CTB Program to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 3)Requires the EDD to automatically qualify individuals participating in an employer sponsored training program for benefits through the CTB Program. 4)Requires the EDD to automatically qualify individuals participating in an apprenticeship program approved by either the state or federal government. 5)Provides that benefits granted through the CTB Program shall be reduced by the amount of any other UI benefits for which the individual is eligible during the period of training. 6)Eliminates the requirement that claimants receiving CTB benefits have their weekly certification of benefits signed by their training provider. 7)Updates existing EDD reporting requirements. Comments Need for this bill? The CTB Program allows unemployed Californians who need further job training to be competitive in the California labor market to receive UI benefits without complying with the usual requirement to look for other work and receive up to one year of benefits. The CTB Program provides financial support to individuals while they are participating in a qualified job training program instead of providing partial wage replacement while the individual looks for work. According to the author's office, this bill makes minor changes to the Program including: updates reference to Workforce Investment Act which was superseded by the recently enacted Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, streamlines the approval process for individuals in apprenticeship training and for journey-level members of employer or trade associations by adding them to the "automatic" approval category and clarifies the calculations for CTB Training Extensions by clarifying that training extension benefits cannot be paid when other types of UI benefits are available. Lastly, according to the author, this bill streamlines the process to verify an individual's ongoing attendance in a training program by eliminating the requirement AB 1514 Page 5 for a signature from the training instructor on every bi-weekly claim form - allowing claimants receiving CTB benefits to certify for benefits online or by phone. Prior Legislation AB 2058 (Block, Chapter 591, Statutes of 2010) modified the requirements for participating in the state's retraining benefits program in order to allow unemployed people to automatically continue receiving UI benefits while enrolled in a training program on a full-time basis. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified6/10/15) Employment Development Department (source) OPPOSITION: (Verified6/10/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Employment Development Department, the CTB Program permits eligible unemployed individuals that are enrolled in approved training to receive UI benefits without the usual requirements to look for work, be available for work, or accept offers of suitable work. The EDD notes that by providing benefits to workers while they receive training or re-training, the CTB Program enables workers to become more competitive in the labor market and return to full employment. The EDD argues that AB 1514 will make a few modest but necessary changes to the CTB Program. They note specifically that the amendments ensure that state law conforms to recent federal legislation and make other minor changes to streamline the process for applicants and align the law with current procedures and practices.AB 1514 Page 6 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Salas Prepared by:Deanna Ping / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556 6/24/15 17:33:52 **** END ****