Bill Text: CA AB110 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 110 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits: inmates.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-05 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 511, Statutes of 2021. [AB110 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB110-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 110

Introduced by Assembly Members Petrie-Norris, Chiu, and Nazarian
(Coauthor: Senator Allen)

December 17, 2020

An act to amend Section 11105.9 of the Penal Code, and to add Section 321.5 to the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to unemployment insurance, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 110, as introduced, Petrie-Norris. Fraudulent claims: inmates.

Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own through a federal-state unemployment insurance program administered by the Employment Development Department, subject to oversight by the Director of Employment Development.

Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain state summary criminal history information, including the identification and criminal history of a person, including name, date of birth, social security number, physical description, fingerprints, photographs, dates of arrests, arresting agencies and booking numbers, charges, dispositions, sentencing information, and similar data about the person. Existing law requires the Attorney General to furnish this information to specified persons, agencies, or organizations, including the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if needed in the course of their duties. Existing law makes it a crime for any person authorized by law to receive state summary criminal history information to knowingly furnish the information to a person who is not authorized by law to receive it.

This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide the names and social security numbers of current inmates to the Employment Development Department for the purposes of preventing payments on fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits. The bill would also require a county to provide the names and social security numbers of inmates currently serving a sentence in the county’s jail to the Employment Development Department for those same purposes. The bill would require the names and social security numbers to be provided to the Employment Development Department on the first of every month and upon the Employment Development Department’s request. Because this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime and would impose additional duties on local officials, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require, for purposes of preventing payments on fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits, the Director of Employment Development to verify with the information provided by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and counties before making any payment of unemployment compensation benefits that the claimant is not an inmate currently incarcerated in the state prisons or an inmate currently serving a sentence in a county jail.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 11105.9 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

11105.9.

(a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 11105 and subdivision (a) of Section 13305, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may provide the social security numbers of current or former inmates to the Employment Development Department, the California Workforce Development Board, or the California Workforce Development Board’s designee for the purposes set forth in subdivision (i) of Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code. The Employment Development Department, the California Workforce Development Board, and any board designee shall keep the social security numbers confidential and use them only to track the labor market and other employment outcomes of program participants, as described in subdivision (i) of Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

(2) Notwithstanding any law, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall provide the names and social security numbers, consistent with federal law, of current inmates to the Employment Development Department for the purpose set forth in Section 321.5 of the Unemployment Insurance Code. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall provide the information to the Employment Development Department pursuant to this paragraph on the first of every month and upon request by the Employment Development Department.
(b) Notwithstanding any law, a county shall provide the names and social security numbers, consistent with federal law, of inmates that are currently serving a sentence in that county’s jail to the Employment Development Department for the purpose set forth in Section 321.5 of the Unemployment Insurance Code. A county shall provide information to the Employment Development Department pursuant to this subdivision on the first of every month and upon request by the Employment Development Department.
~~(b)~~

(c) The Employment Development Department, the California Workforce Development Board, and any board designee shall not disseminate social security numbers obtained pursuant to this section to an individual or public entity not identified in this section.

SEC. 2.

Section 321.5 is added to the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:

321.5.

For purposes of preventing payments on fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits under this part, the Director of Employment Development shall verify, with the information provided by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the counties pursuant to Section 11105.9 of the Penal Code, before making any payment of unemployment compensation benefits pursuant to this part that the claimant is not an inmate currently incarcerated in the state prisons or an inmate serving a sentence in a county jail.

SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to stop the payment of unemployment compensation benefits on fraudulent claims by inmates, thereby preserving benefits for claimants in need, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.