S-4462

AN ACT Relating to self-employment for unemployed claimants; adding a new chapter to Title 50 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the establishment of a self-employment assistance program would assist unemployed individuals and create new businesses and job opportunities in Washington state. The commissioner is directed to inform individuals identified as likely to exhaust regular unemployment benefits of the opportunity to enroll in commissioner-approved self-employment assistance programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) An unemployed individual is eligible to participate in a self-employment assistance program if it has been determined that he or she:

(a) Is otherwise eligible for regular unemployment benefits as defined in RCW 50.22.010(5);

(b) Has been identified as likely to exhaust regular unemployment benefits under a profiling system established by the commissioner as defined in P.L. 103-152;

(c) Is enrolled in a self-employment assistance program that is approved by the commissioner, and includes entrepreneurial training, business counseling, technical assistance, and requirements to engage in activities relating to the establishment of a business and becoming self-employed.

(2) Individuals participating in a self-employment assistance program approved by the commissioner are eligible to receive their regular unemployment benefits.

(a) The requirements of RCW 50.20.010(3) and 50.20.080 relating to availability for work, active search for work, and refusal to accept suitable work are not applicable to an individual in the self-employment assistance program for the first fifty-two weeks of the individual's participation in the program.

(b) An individual who meets the requirements of this chapter is considered to be "unemployed" under RCW 50.04.310 and 50.20.010.

(3) An individual who fails to participate in his or her approved self-employment assistance program as prescribed by the commissioner is disqualified from continuation in the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The commissioner shall take all steps necessary in carrying out this chapter to assure collaborative involvement of interested parties in program development, and to ensure that the self-employment assistance programs meet all federal criteria for withdrawal from the unemployment fund. The commissioner may approve, as self-employment assistance programs, existing self-employment training programs available through community colleges, private industry councils, or other organizations and is not obligated by chapter . . ., Laws of 1998 (this act) to expend any departmental funds for the operation of self-employment assistance programs, unless specific funding is provided to the department for that purpose through federal or state appropriations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that 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 inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and such finding or determination does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that 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. Sections 1 through 4 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 50 RCW.