Unemployment Insurance Benefits Extended – And Cut

The Republican Legislature quickly passed legislation Wednesday to make technical changes in Michigan’s law in order to qualify for $500 million in federal money. The measure allows the roughly 150,000 currently unemployed Michigan workers to obtain benefits for an additional 20 weeks, but also limits those filing for unemployment after January 15^th of 2012 to 20 weeks as opposed to the current 26 weeks.

House Bill 4408, sponsored by Representative Jim Stamas (R-Midland) had been introduced to tackle fraud in the unemployment insurance system through a $5 million investment, and now moves to Governor Rick Snyder’s desk for approval after passing on largely party-line votes.

Debate on the measure resulted in the most heated partisan battle in the Senate for the young legislative session. Democrats asked for the legislation to be read in its entirety, taking about an hour and resulting in Republicans issuing a Call of the Senate, during which members are not allowed to leave and the doors are locked.

Only one member of the Senate Republican Caucus joined Democrats in voting against the measure (Senator Joe Hune, R-Fowlerville), resulting in a 24-13 tally. Senator Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) was excused for family business. Three Democrats joined their Republican colleagues in the House in voting yes (65-44) when the legislature returned for concurrence in the changes.

In related news, an audit issued by State Auditor General Thomas McTavish, CPA, stated that the Unemployment Insurance Agency failed to collect as much as $191.9 million in fines for fraudulent filings and $61.3 million in overpayments for a three-year period ending September 30, 2010.

Labels: unemployment benefits extended

posted by PAA Online , Friday, March 25, 2011 12:27 PM
LINK DIRECTLY TO THIS ARTICLE

This Week's Newsletter

Past Newsletters