Rep. Timmy Truett, R-McKee, (left) listens as Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, confers with him on the House Floor on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
(LRC Public Information)
FRANKFORT — The House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee advanced legislation Thursday morning to make some updates to the state’s unemployment system.
In 2022, the Kentucky General Assembly approved House Bill 4, which changed the length of unemployment insurance benefits and the job search requirements for recipients. The length of benefits is now based on the state’s average unemployment rate, and recipients are required to engage in at least five verifiable work search activities a week.
House Bill 146 makes some technical updates to last year’s HB 4, according to the bill’s sponsor Rep. Russell Webber, R-Shepherdsville. The most notable change is claimants would receive 16 weeks of benefits instead of 12 weeks when the unemployment rate is at 4.5%, beginning July 1.
“(HB 146) really does not change the overall intent of House Bill 4, which was to promote rapid reemployment and maintain or build the trust fund sustainability that we’ve had an issue with over the last number years,” Webber said.
Webber said the updates proposed in HB 146 come at the request of the U.S. Department of Labor. It is common practice for the state to communicate with the federal government on this type of legislation to ensure it aligns with federal law, he said.
HB 4 originally gave an additional four weeks of benefits to individuals with a specified return to work date. Webber said the U.S. Department of Labor told the state it cannot do that based on a court decision from 1964.
In 2022, several lawmakers criticized HB 4 for the work search requirements and how Eastern Kentucky residents may be disproportionally impacted by that provision of the bill.
On Thursday, Rep. Al Gentry, D-Louisville, and Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty, D-Martin, asked Webber if there had been any issues with the work search requirement since HB 4 went into effect on Jan. 1.
Webber said while it is mostly too early to tell the exact impact, there had been some applicants who were struggling to meet that requirement.
Another provision in HB 146 would require the Office of Unemployment Insurance to educate claimants on resources to further their education. That includes participation in an approved job training and certification program that would make them eligible for five extra weeks of benefits, Webber said.
Additionally, Webber said he hopes the changes encourage Kentuckians seeking work to explore new employment opportunities they may not have originally considered in a field they have never worked in before.
Tackett Laferty still expressed concerns for Eastern Kentucky residents who may not have as many jobs available to apply for and may face a lack of internet access.
“I just worry when those opportunities are not there through no fault of their own,” she said.
Webber said he has asked for the Office of Unemployment Insurance to keep track of issues applicants are having and that he has met with other lawmakers about the job situation in Eastern Kentucky.
“I’m interested in making everyone, every region in the Commonwealth of Kentucky successful,” Webber said.
The House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee approved HB 146 unanimously. It will now go before the full House for consideration.