87R1741 JSC-D
 
  By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2102
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to removing the waiting period for unemployment benefit
  eligibility.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed
  individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if
  the individual:
               (1)  has registered for work at an employment office
  and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
  rules adopted by the commission;
               (2)  has made a claim for benefits under Section
  208.001;
               (3)  is able to work;
               (4)  is available for work;
               (5)  is actively seeking work in accordance with rules
  adopted by the commission;
               (6)  for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
  credits:
                     (A)  in at least two calendar quarters; and
                     (B)  in an amount not less than 37 times the
  individual's benefit amount;
               (7)  after the beginning date of the individual's most
  recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
  equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;
  and
               (8)  [has been totally or partially unemployed for a
  waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and
               [(9)] participates in reemployment services, such as a
  job search assistance service, if the individual has been
  determined, according to a profiling system established by the
  commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
  benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
  unless:
                     (A)  the individual has completed participation
  in such a service; or
                     (B)  there is reasonable cause, as determined by
  the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
  those services.
         SECTION 2.  The following provisions are repealed:
               (1)  Sections 207.021(b) and (c), Labor Code; and
               (2)  Section 207.0212, Labor Code.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the
  Texas Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this
  Act. A claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed
  by the law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.