AN ACT relating to unemployment insurance.
     Amend section KRS 341.055, relating to covered employment, to enhance welfare reform efforts, exempt service performed by a child care provider in a welfare recipient's home from covered employment; amend KRS 341.270, relating to unemployment insurance taxes (contributions) to decrease the minimum new employer contribution rate from 3% to 2.7% beginning on January 1, 1999, except that the new employer rate shall be 2.857% if an employer was assigned the 3% rate prior to January 1, 1999, and if "trust fund adequacy" rates are in effect; revise the tax schedule to establish "trust fund adequacy" rates, as the lowest rates in the schedule, when the trust fund balance equals or exceeds 1.18% of the total covered wages in the previous fiscal year; establish "trust fund adequacy" adequacy rates, that result in lower rates for positive balance employers, with 0.157% being the minimum rate and 9% being the maximum rate; amend KRS 341.330 to permit, upon request, cash refunds, rather than credit, for tax overpayments of more than $50; amend KRS 341.380 to increase the minimum weekly benefit amount from $22 to $39; increase other benefits, when "trust fund adequacy" rates are in effect, as follows: calculate the weekly benefit rate on 1.235%, rather than 1.185%, of the worker's base period wages, and increase maximum weekly benefit amount from 55% to 62% of the state average weekly wage; amend KRS 341.390 to eliminate reduction of unemployment insurance benefits based on Social Security retirement income; amend KRS 341.392 to make technical correction in a reference to the Social Security Act; amend KRS 341.415 to clarify that recovery or recoupment of benefit overpayments, except for deductions from future benefits, if the overpayment was the result of a departmental error; impose same lien provision for benefit overpayments as exist for tax delinquencies and provide that the lien continue until the benefit overpayment plus interest and fees have been paid; and to codify an existing policy of deducting 100% of future benefits for overpayment of benefits that resulted from a false statement, misrepresentation, or concealment of material information by a benefit recipient; amend KRS 341.470 to make a technical correction by eliminating a reference to the National Labor Relations Board and to include reference to a referee in proceedings before the Unemployment Insurance Commission; amend KRS 341.490 to include reference to payments collected by the service capacity upgrade fund established in Section 12 of the Act; amend KRS 341.530 to clarify the provision regarding noncharging of part-time employers, who continue to employ workers who are receiving benefits; and to codify an existing policy that prohibits an employer from being deemed the most recent employer unless the worker has worked for the employer in each of 10 weeks whether or not consecutive back to the beginning of the worker's base period; amend KRS 341.540 to conform to a federal requirement that requires that an employing unit that succeeds to or acquires a segregable and identifiable portion of another employing unit shall assume the resources and liabilities of the former employing unit in proportion to the percentage of the payroll or employees assignable to the transferred portion as determined by the secretary, rather than the proportion proposed by the parties in interest; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 to create the service capacity upgrade fund in the state treasury that shall be administered separate from all other public funds; require that the fund shall be used solely for acquisition and upgrading of the technology base, program integrity function and service delivery capacity in support of the programs administered by the Department for Employment Services; provide that the secretary of the Workforce Development shall exercise authority and jurisdiction of the fund; provide for investment of the moneys in the fund and that interest shall be credited to the fund; establish funding mechanism for the fund that consists of an annual reduction of employers' unemployment insurance tax rates for 3 years, beginning on January 1, 1999, and ending on December 31, 2001; provide that the amount of the reduction for calendar year 1999 shall be 0.075% of an employer's assigned tax rate if the unemployment insurance trust fund balance on December 31, 1998 equals or exceeds 1.18% of the total covered wages paid for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 1998; provide that the reduction effective for calendar year 2000 shall be reduced 40% if the trust fund balance on December 31, 1999, is less than the trust fund balance as of December 31, 1998; provide that if the trust fund balance on December 31, 2000, is less than the trust fund balance as of December 31, 1999, the amount of the rate reduction for calendar year 2001 shall be 40% less than the amount of the rate reduction that was in effect in calendar year 2000; require that employers whose tax rates have been reduced shall pay into the service capacity upgrade fund an amount equal to the same percentage by which their rates were reduced multiplied by their total taxable wages during that calendar year, and that the payments to the fund shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as payments are made to the unemployment insurance trust fund; subject employers to same penalties for failure to make payments to the unemployment insurance trust fund for failure to make payments to the service capacity upgrade fund; require that interest on moneys in the service capacity upgrade fund shall accrue to that fund; and provide that any balance remaining in the service capacity upgrade fund on June 30, 2002, shall be deposited into the unemployment insurance trust fund; and repeal KRS 341.285, relating to transitional provisions for nonprofit and governmental employers that elected coverage prior to legislative changes made in 1972 and 1978, and subsequently became reimbursing employers.

     Feb 11-introduced in Senate
     Feb 12-to Health and Welfare (S)
     Feb 17-reassigned to Economic Development and Labor (S)
     Feb 24-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
     Feb 25-2nd reading, to Rules; floor amendment (1) filed
     Feb 26-posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for February 27, 1998
     Feb 27-3rd reading, passed 36-0 with Floor Amendment (1)
     Mar 2-received in House
     Mar 3-to Labor and Industry (H); posted in committee
     Mar 12-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
     Mar 13-2nd reading, to Rules
     Mar 20-posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for March 23, 1998
     Mar 23-3rd reading, passed 97-0
     Mar 24-received in Senate; enrolled, signed by each presiding officer, delivered to Governor
     Mar 27-signed by Governor