economies."
"The rising jobless rate shows that people in California and around the country are suffering and there's no sign it's getting better," Steinberg said. "Unemployment insurance is part of government's compact with its people that it will be there when people need it. We must do everything in our power to make sure the system survives and thrives for the people who use it now or may need it later."
The first part of the legislation establishes an Alternative Base Period (ABP) system that allows workers who become unemployed to draw unemployment insurance benefits based on recent work experience. Currently the state does not count earnings for the past 4-6 months of employment when calculating benefits. In addition to benefiting tens of thousands of California workers, particularly in the construction, agricultural and tourism industries, creating the ABP would make California eligible to receive up to $900 million in federal funds as soon as the federal Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act is approved by Congress and the President. California already meets much of the criteria to receive those funds; establishing the ABP system for calculating benefits is the final piece needed.
The second part of the legislation addresses the unemployment emergency by raising the income disregard for unemployment benefits. Right now if you are unemployed and receiving benefits, you can only bring in another $25 per week if you are able to find some other source of income while you are looking for permanent, full-time work. The new legislation will raise that threshold to $200 per week. That means unemployed Californians who are looking for work and struggling to pay their bills and support their families on their UI benefits will be able to bring in additional money from part-time work they can find. This not only helps workers and their families, it helps their local economies - particularly in the most economically distressed areas of our state.
Support for the pending measures was also provided by the following legislators: Assemblymember Juan Arambula (D-Fresno), Assemblymember Joe Coto (D-San Jose), Assemblymember Sandré Swanson (D-Alameda), Assemblymember Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista), Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Martinez) and Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino).
"I understand that when a family member looses their job that it shakes the foundation of their family and it causes all kinds of chaos and a reduction in spending, how could they spend?" said Salas, "And that unemployment benefits are a way to stabilize the family, get them back on the right track and to give them an amount of security as they look for a job."
"As Chair of the Assembly Budget Sub-committee on state administration, I know that the state Employment Development Department's telecommunication and automation systems serving unemployed beneficiaries are in dire need of an upgrade," said Arambula. "Federal unemployment insurance modernization funds can help and will help to address these problems."
"An important part of this is that the $900 million will include also $60 million available to help modernize our unemployment insurance system," said Coto. [Continue on page 2.]
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