BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2364
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2364 (Nava)
As Amended August 12, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(April 22, |SENATE: |25-10|(August 23, |
| | |2010) | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Clarifies the scope of the law that defines "good
cause" to voluntarily leave employment and retain eligibility
for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The Senate amendments merely adopt double-jointing language to
avoid chaptering out problems with AB 2055.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Replaced the word "children" with the word "family" in the
domestic violence good cause exception to the general rule
that a person who voluntarily leaves employment is not
eligible for UI benefits.
2)Directed the Employment Development Department (EDD) to notify
claimants upon the filing of a claim about the method of
computation to be used in determining the amount to be paid.
3)Conformed the UI Code to the Government Code by changing from
three years to one year the period of time that an uncashed
state check is valid.
4)Repealed an obsolete portion of the UI Code that addresses the
Leisure Sharing program that has not existed for over 25
years.
5)Codified a long-standing judicial stipulation that determines
the conditions that must exist for an open claim to be
cancelled.
EXISTING LAW :
AB 2364
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1)Establishes a UI program that is a federal-state partnership
to provide partial wage replacement benefits to people who are
unemployed through no fault of their own.
2)Provides that a person remains eligible for UI benefits even
though he or she voluntarily resigns, if the resignation was
due to the fact that the claimant left the employment to
protect himself or herself or his or her children from
domestic violence.
3)Establishes, as a matter of federal law, so-called "stimulus"
funding (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -
Public Law 111-5) to states for purposes of paying UI
benefits, but conditions that funding on the adoption by a
state of certain requirements, including a domestic violence
"good cause" exception for voluntary resignations. The
federal Department of Labor (DOL) has the authority to
determine whether a state meets these requirements.
4)Includes a domestic violence good cause exception that was
deemed by the DOL to be inadequate.
5)Establishes an "alternative base period" (ABP) method for
calculating eligibility for UI benefits to which certain
claimants are entitled. Adoption of the ABP last year ensures
that California would be eligible for 1/3 of the potential
$839 million of federal stimulus money.
6)Provides broadly that no state issued check is valid for more
than one year, but also states that an uncashed warrant drawn
from the Unemployment Fund or the Unemployment Administration
Fund reverts to the fund after 3 years.
FISCAL EFFECT : Adoption of this bill will assure that
California is eligible for $559 million of the $839 million in
potentially available federal stimulus funds.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0006264
AB 2364
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