BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1514|
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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