STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 54th Legislature (2014)

HOUSE BILL 2411	By:	Hulbert

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to labor; amending 40 O.S. 2011, Section 3-103, as amended by Section 8, Chapter 71, O.S.L. 2013 (40 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 3-103), which relates to payment contributions; modifying percentage of wages payable; providing for minimum contribution rate for certain employers; repealing 40 O.S. 2011, Sections 3-110 and 3-112, as amended by Section 11, Chapter 71, O.S.L. 2013 (40 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 3-112), which relate to contribution rates; providing for codification; providing for noncodification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law not to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Oklahoma New Business Unemployment Tax Relief Bill of 2014”.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     40 O.S. 2011, Section 3-103, as amended by Section 8, Chapter 71, O.S.L. 2013 (40 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 3-103), is amended to read as follows:
Section 3-103.  COMPUTATION - PERCENTAGE OF WAGES PAYABLE.
Beginning January 1, 1996 2015, each employer, unless otherwise prescribed in Sections 3-111, 3-111.1, 3-112, 3-701 or 3-801 of this title or Section 3 of this act, shall pay contributions equal to a one and one- half percent (1.5%) of taxable wages paid by the employer with respect to employment which shall be the greater of one percent (1%) or the average contribution rate paid by all employers during the second year preceding the current calendar year.  The average contribution rate shall be calculated by dividing annual net contributions received by total annual taxable wages.
SECTION 3.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-110.1 of Title 40, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
MINIMUM CONTRIBUTIONS.
A.  All employers shall have a rate of one and five-tenths percent (1.5%) until the calendar year following the eighth consecutive calendar quarter in which the employer employed at least one individual in covered employment, at which time the employer shall qualify for an earned rate calculated pursuant to the provisions of Part 1 of Article III of the Employment Security Act of 1980.
B.  If an employer qualifies for an earned rate under subsection A of this section and subsequently ceases to employ at least one person, the employer shall revert to the minimum contribution rate of one and five-tenths percent (1.5%) if, throughout the one (1) calendar year immediately preceding the calculation of the employer's contribution rate, there was no individual who could have filed a claim in each quarter of that year establishing a base period, as defined by Section 1-202 of Title 40 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which would include wages from that employer.
SECTION 4.     REPEALER     40 O.S. 2011, Sections 3-110 and 3-112, as amended by Section 11, Chapter 71, O.S.L. 2013 (40 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 3-112), are hereby repealed.
SECTION 5.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2014.

54-2-9721	LRB	01/10/14