AN ACT Relating to unemployment insurance; adding new sections to chapter 50.22 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 50.22 RCW to read as follows:

(1) An additional benefit period is established for counties identified under subsection (2) of this section beginning on the first Sunday after the effective date of this act. Benefits shall be paid as provided in section 3 of this act.

(2) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Additional benefit period" means a period applicable to a county that:

(i) Begins with the third week after a week in which the commissioner determines that the county has:

(A) A county annual insured unemployment rate that is twenty percent or more above the state annual insured unemployment rate for the prior calendar year; and

(B) A lumber and wood products employment location quotient that is at least twice the state average during the prior twelve-month period; and

(ii) Ends no sooner than fifty-two weeks after the additional benefit period begins.

(b) "Annual insured unemployment rate" means the percentage derived by dividing the average weekly number of individuals filing claims for weeks of unemployment with respect to the most recent fifty-two consecutive week period, as determined by the commissioner on the basis of the department's reports to the United States secretary of labor, by the average monthly employment covered under this title for the first four of the most recent six completed calendar quarters ending before the end of such fifty-two week period. The division shall be carried to the fourth decimal place with any remaining fraction disregarded.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 50.22 RCW to read as follows:

An additional benefit period is established for the lumber and wood products industry beginning with the third week after the first Sunday after the effective date of this act. Benefits shall be paid as provided in section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 50.22 RCW to read as follows:

Benefits shall be paid under the additional benefit periods established under sections 1 and 2 of this act as follows:

(1) No new claims for additional benefits will be accepted for weeks beginning after July 3, 1993, but for claims established on or before July 3, 1993, weeks of unemployment occurring after July 3, 1993, shall be compensated as provided in this section. This additional benefit period shall be suspended with the start of an extended benefit period, or any totally federally funded benefit program, with eligibility criteria and benefits comparable to the program established by this section and sections 1, 2, and 4 of this act, and shall resume the first week following the end of the federal program.

(2) The weekly benefit amount shall be calculated as specified in RCW 50.22.040.

(3) The total additional benefit amount shall be the least of:

(a) One hundred percent of regular benefits payable under this title;

(b) Twenty-six times the individual's weekly benefit amount; or

(c) Fifty-two times the individual's weekly benefit amount, reduced by the total amount of regular benefits and extended benefits paid, or deemed paid, with respect to the benefit year.

(4) Additional benefits shall not be payable for weeks more than one year beyond the end of the benefit year of the regular claim.

(5) Additional benefits shall be payable for up to five weeks following the completion of the training required by section 4 of this act.

(6) Benefits paid under this section shall be paid under the same terms and conditions as regular benefits, shall be paid subject to rules adopted by the commissioner to implement this section and sections 1, 2, and 4 of this act, and shall not be charged to the experience rating account of individual employers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 50.22 RCW to read as follows:

(1) An additional benefit eligibility period is established for any exhaustee who:

(a)(i) At the time of last separation from employment, resided in or was employed in a county identified under section 1(2) of this act; or

(ii) During his or her base year, earned wages in six hundred eighty hours of lumber and wood products employment; and

(b) Has received notice of a permanent termination of employment from the individual's employer or has been laid off and is unlikely to return to his or her previous employment because work opportunities at the individual's most recent workplace or in the individual's most recent occupation have been substantially reduced; and

(c) Is notified by the department of the requirements of this section and develops an individual training program which is submitted to the commissioner for approval not later than sixty days after the individual is notified of the requirements of this section, and enters the approved training program not later than ninety days after the date of the individual's termination or layoff, or ninety days after the effective date of this act, whichever is later, unless the department determines that the training is not available during the ninety-day period, in which case the individual shall enter training as soon as it is available; and

(d) Is enrolled in training on a full-time basis and maintains satisfactory progress in the training; and

(e) Does not receive a training allowance or stipend under the provisions of any federal or state law.

(2) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Training program" means:

(i) A remedial education program determined to be necessary after counseling at the educational institution in which the individual enrolls pursuant to his or her approved training program; or

(ii) A vocational training program at an educational institution that:

(A) Is training for a labor demand occupation;

(B) Is likely to facilitate a substantial enhancement of the individual's marketable skills and earning power; and

(C) Does not include on-the-job training or other training under which the individual is paid by an employer for work performed by the individual during the time that the individual receives additional benefits under section 1 of this act.

(b) "Educational institution" means an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 or an educational institution as defined in RCW 28C.04.410(3).

(c) "Training allowance or stipend" means discretionary use, cash-in-hand payments available to the individual to be used as the individual sees fit, but does not mean direct or indirect compensation for training costs, such as tuition or books and supplies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements which are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or the eligibility of employers in this state for federal unemployment tax credits, the conflicting part of this act is hereby declared to be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and such finding or determination shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements which are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1991.