HF 1866

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to unemployment insurance; providing for 
  1.3             parenting leave benefit eligibility; regulating 
  1.4             solvency assessments; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2000, sections 268.051, subdivisions 2, 8; 268.085, by 
  1.6             adding a subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 268.051, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [COMPUTATION OF TAX RATES.] (a) For each calendar 
  1.11  year the commissioner shall compute the tax rate of each 
  1.12  taxpaying employer that qualifies for an experience rating by 
  1.13  adding the base tax rate to the employer's experience rating. 
  1.14     (b) The base tax rate shall be six-tenths three-tenths of 
  1.15  one percent if the amount in the fund is less than $200,000,000 
  1.16  on June 30 of the prior calendar year; or five-tenths two-tenths 
  1.17  of one percent if the fund is more than $200,000,000 but less 
  1.18  than $225,000,000; or four-tenths of one percent if the fund is 
  1.19  more than $225,000,000 but less than $250,000,000; or 
  1.20  three-tenths of one percent if the fund is more than 
  1.21  $250,000,000 but less than $275,000,000; or two-tenths of one 
  1.22  percent if the fund is $275,000,000 but less than $300,000,000; 
  1.23  or one-tenth of one percent if the fund is $300,000,000 or more. 
  1.24     (c) For the purposes of this subdivision the fund shall not 
  1.25  include any money borrowed from the federal unemployment trust 
  1.26  fund pursuant to section 268.194, subdivision 6. 
  2.1      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 268.051, 
  2.2   subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  2.3      Subd. 8.  [SOLVENCY ASSESSMENT.] (a) If the fund balance is 
  2.4   less than $150,000,000 on June 30 November 15 of any year is 
  2.5   less than 90 percent of the total amount of unemployment 
  2.6   benefits paid in the 52 calendar weeks prior to November 1 of 
  2.7   that same year, a solvency assessment on taxpaying all employers 
  2.8   will be in effect for the following calendar year.  
  2.9   The taxpaying employer shall pay quarterly a solvency assessment 
  2.10  of ten percent of the quarterly unemployment taxes, or payment 
  2.11  in lieu of taxes, due. as follows: 
  2.12       if the fund balance is          the solvency assessment
  2.13   less than    -    but more than           shall be
  2.14     90 percent   -    70 percent           10 percent
  2.15     70 percent   -    50 percent           20 percent
  2.16     50 percent   -     0 percent           30 percent
  2.17     (b) The A portion of the solvency assessment, in an amount 
  2.18  determined sufficient by the commissioner, shall be placed into 
  2.19  a special account from which the commissioner shall pay any 
  2.20  interest accruing on any loan from the federal unemployment 
  2.21  trust fund provided for under section 268.194, subdivision 6.  
  2.22  If the commissioner determines that the balance in this special 
  2.23  account is more than is necessary to pay the interest, the 
  2.24  commissioner shall pay to the fund the amount in excess of that 
  2.25  necessary to pay the interest. 
  2.26     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 268.085, is 
  2.27  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.28     Subd. 17.  [PARENTAL LEAVE.] If the applicant is on an 
  2.29  unpaid leave of absence from covered employment due to and 
  2.30  within one year of the birth or adoption of the applicant's 
  2.31  child, the ability to work, the employment search, the voluntary 
  2.32  leave of absence, and the availability for suitable employment 
  2.33  provisions of this section do not apply.