Bill Text: MI SB0538 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Employment security; funds; payments to claimants affected by erroneous, computer-based fraud determinations; reserve amount in contingent fund. Amends sec. 10 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.10).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-09-07 - Referred To Committee On Government Operations [SB0538 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2017-SB0538-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 538
September 7, 2017, Introduced by Senators ANANICH, KNEZEK, HOPGOOD, CONYERS, GREGORY, BIEDA, JOHNSON, HERTEL, WARREN and YOUNG and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled
"Michigan employment security act,"
by amending section 10 (MCL 421.10), as amended by 2016 PA 517.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 10. (1) There is created in the department of treasury a
special fund to be known and designated as the administration fund
(Michigan employment security act). Any balances in the
administration fund at the end of any fiscal year of this state
shall be carried over as a part of the administration fund and
shall not revert to the general fund of this state. Except as
otherwise provided in subsection (3), all money deposited into the
administration fund under this act shall be appropriated by the
legislature to the unemployment agency to pay the expenses of the
administration of this act.
(2) The administration fund shall be credited with all money
appropriated to the fund by the legislature, all money received
from the United States or any agency of the United States for that
purpose, and all money received by this state for the fund. All
money in the administration fund that is received from the federal
government or any agency of the federal government or that is
appropriated by this state for the purposes of this act, except
money requisitioned from the account of this state in the
unemployment trust fund pursuant to a specific appropriation made
by the legislature in accordance with section 903(c)(2) of title IX
of the social security act, 42 USC 1103(c)(2), and with section
17(3)(f), shall be expended solely for the purposes and in the
amounts found necessary by the appropriate agency of the United
States and the legislature for the proper and efficient
administration of this act.
(3) All money requisitioned from the account of this state in
the unemployment trust fund pursuant to a specific appropriation
made by the legislature in accordance with section 903(c)(2) of
title IX of the social security act, 42 USC 1103(c)(2), and with
section 17(3)(f), shall be deposited in the administration fund.
Any money that remains unexpended at the close of the 2-year period
beginning on the date of enactment of a specific appropriation
shall be immediately redeposited with the secretary of the treasury
of the United States to the credit of this state's account in the
unemployment trust fund; or any money that for any reason cannot be
expended or is not to be expended for the purpose for which
appropriated before the close of this 2-year period shall be
redeposited at the earliest practicable date.
(4) If any money received after June 30, 1941, from the
appropriate agency of the United States under title III of the
social
security act, 42 USC 501 to 504, 505, or any unencumbered
balances in the administration fund (Michigan employment security
act) as of that date, or any money granted after that date to this
state under the Wagner-Peyser act, as defined in section 12, or any
money made available by this state or its political subdivisions
and matched by money granted to this state under the Wagner-Peyser
act, is found by the appropriate agency of the United States,
because of any action or contingency, to have been lost or been
expended for purposes other than, or in amounts in excess of, those
found necessary by that agency of the United States for the proper
administration of this act, the money shall be replaced by money
appropriated for that purpose from the general funds of this state
to the administration fund (Michigan employment security act) for
expenditure as provided in this act. Upon receipt of notice of such
a finding by the appropriate agency of the United States, the
unemployment agency shall promptly report the amount required for
replacement to the governor and the governor shall, at the earliest
opportunity, submit to the legislature a request for the
appropriation of that amount. This subsection does not relieve this
state of its obligation with respect to funds received prior to
July
1, 1941, under the provisions of 42 USC 501 to 504.505.
(5) If any funds expended or disbursed by the unemployment
agency are found by the appropriate agency of the United States to
have been lost or expended for purposes other than, or in amounts
in excess of, those found necessary by that agency of the United
States for the proper administration of this act, and if these
funds are replaced as provided in subsection (4) by money
appropriated for that purpose from the general fund of this state,
then the director who approved the expenditure or disbursement of
those funds for those purposes or in those amounts, is liable to
this state in an amount equal to the sum of money appropriated to
replace those funds.
(6) There is created in the department of treasury a separate
fund to be known as the contingent fund (Michigan employment
security act) into which shall be deposited all solvency taxes
collected under section 19a and all interest on contributions,
penalties, and damages collected under this act. Except as provided
in subsection (7), all amounts in the contingent fund (Michigan
employment security act) and all earnings on those amounts are
continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year for the
administration of the talent investment agency, as established
under Executive Reorganization Order No. 2014-6, MCL 125.1995,
including, but not limited to, the development and execution of
workforce training programs, and for the payment of interest on
advances from the federal government to the unemployment
compensation fund under section 1201 of the social security act, 42
USC 1321, to be expended only if authorized by the unemployment
agency. Money deposited from the solvency taxes collected under
section 19a shall not be used for the administration of the
unemployment agency, except for the repayment of loans from the
state treasury and interest on loans made under section 19a(3).
However, an authorization or expenditure shall not be made as a
substitution for a grant of federal funds or for any portion of a
grant that, in the absence of an authorization, would be available
to the unemployment agency. Immediately upon receipt of
administrative grants from the appropriate agency of the United
States to cover administrative costs for which the unemployment
agency has authorized and made expenditures from the contingent
fund, those grants shall be transferred to the contingent fund to
the extent necessary to reimburse the contingent fund for the
amount of those expenditures. Amounts needed to refund interest,
damages, and penalties erroneously collected shall be withdrawn and
expended for those purposes from the contingent fund upon order of
the unemployment agency. Any amount authorized to be expended for
administration under this section may be transferred to the
administration fund. An amount not needed for the purpose for which
authorized shall, upon order of the unemployment agency, be
returned to the contingent fund. Amounts needed to refund
erroneously collected solvency taxes shall be withdrawn and
expended for that purpose upon order of the unemployment agency.
(7) For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017 only,
$10,000,000.00 of the money in the contingent fund created in
subsection (6) is transferred to and shall be deposited into the
general fund.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, an
amount is reserved in the contingent fund for the following
purposes:
(a) Payments to claimants for benefits, interest, damages, and
penalties recovered as a result of erroneous, computer-identified
fraud determinations made from January 1, 2013 through December 31,
2015. A claimant is entitled to interest on those erroneously
collected benefits, interest, damages, and penalties at a rate of
1% per month.
(b) Payments to claimants for any out-of-pocket expenses
incurred as a result of an erroneous, computer-identified fraud
determination made from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015,
including, but not limited to, expenses associated with litigation
or a bankruptcy proceeding.
(c) Payments for credit monitoring and repair services for
claimants whose credit score was reduced as a result of an
erroneous, computer-identified fraud determination made from
January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015. The unemployment agency
shall provide these payments to a claimant for a reasonable period
of time to ensure that the claimant's credit score is at the same
level as before the erroneous determination was made.
(9) The unemployment agency shall not use money in the
contingent fund for any purpose other than the purposes in
subsection (8) until after all of the payments under subsection (8)
have been made or all of the conditions under subsection (8) have
been met.
(10) It is the intent of the legislature that, if the
contingent fund does not contain sufficient money to fulfill the
purposes of subsection (8), an amount necessary to fulfill those
purposes be deposited into the contingent fund from the general
fund of this state.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.