SENATE BILL No. 141
February 5,
2013, Introduced by Senators GREGORY, SMITH, BIEDA, JOHNSON, HOPGOOD, ANDERSON,
YOUNG and HUNTER and referred to the Committee on Reforms, Restructuring and
Reinventing.
A
bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled
"Michigan
employment security act,"
(MCL
421.1 to 421.75) by adding section 27d.
THE
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
27d. (1) As used in this section:
(a)
"Self-employment assistance activities" means activities
that
are approved by the unemployment agency, including
entrepreneurial
training, business counseling, and technical
assistance,
in which an individual identified through a worker
profiling
system as likely to exhaust regular unemployment
compensation
participates for the purpose of establishing a
business
and becoming self-employed.
(b)
"Self-employment assistance allowance" means an allowance,
payable
in lieu of regular unemployment compensation and from the
unemployment
compensation fund established under section 26 to an
individual
participating in self-employment assistance activities
who
meets the requirements of this section.
(c)
"Regular unemployment compensation" means benefits payable
to
an individual under this act, including benefits payable to
federal
civilian employees and to ex-servicemembers pursuant to 5
USC
8501 to 8525, other than additional and extended benefits.
(d)
"Full-time basis" means the hours of employment
established
for full-time employment in regulations promulgated by
the
unemployment agency pursuant to the administrative procedures
act
of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
(2)
The weekly self-employment assistance allowance payable
under
this section is equal to the weekly benefit amount for
regular
unemployment compensation otherwise payable under section
27.
The total of the allowance paid under this section plus the
regular
unemployment compensation paid under this act with respect
to
any benefit year shall not exceed the maximum benefit amount as
established
under section 27 with respect to that benefit year.
(3)
The self-employment assistance allowance is payable at the
same
interval, on the same terms, and subject to the same
conditions
as regular unemployment compensation under this act,
except
for all of the following:
(a)
The requirements of section 28(1)(c) relating to
availability
for work, section 28(1)(a) relating to active search
for
work, and section 29(1)(e) relating to refusal to accept work
are
not applicable to the individual.
(b)
The requirements of section 27(c)(2) relating to earned
income
do not apply to income earned from self-employment by the
individual.
(c)
An individual who meets the requirements of this section
is
considered to be unemployed under section 48.
(d)
An individual who fails to participate in self-employment
assistance
activities or who fails to actively engage on a full-
time
basis in activities, including training, relating to the
establishment
of a business and becoming self-employed is
disqualified
from receiving an allowance under this section for the
week
the failure occurs.
(4)
The aggregate number of individuals receiving the
allowance
under this section at any time shall not exceed 5% of the
number
of individuals receiving regular unemployment compensation.
The
unemployment agency shall prescribe guidelines for actions that
are
necessary to assure the requirements of this subsection are
met.
(5)
Allowances paid under this section shall be charged to
employers
as provided under this act for charging regular
unemployment
compensation.
(6)
The self-employment assistance program shall not result in
any
cost to the unemployment trust fund in excess of the cost that
would
be incurred by this state and charged to the fund if the
program
had not been operated.
(7)
Self-employment assistance allowances paid under this
section
shall be paid in accordance with any additional program
requirements
established by the secretary of labor pursuant to 26
USC
3306(t).
(8)
This section applies to benefit weeks beginning after