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Minutes for SB177 - Committee on Commerce
Short Title
Changing provisions of the employment security law including creation of the unemployment compensation modernization and improvement council, development of a new unemployment insurance information technology system, provision of tax information to claimants, publication of trust fund data, the maximum benefit period, the charging of employer accounts for benefits paid, employer contribution rate determination and schedules, abolishment of the employment security interest assessment fund, crediting of employer accounts for fraudulent or erroneous payments, transfers from the state general fund to the unemployment insurance trust fund for improper benefit payments, changes to the shared work compensation program and other unemployment trust fund provisions.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 18, 2021
Chairman Olson called upon Peter Brady for neutral testimony from the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL). Mr. Brady Turned to Amber Schultz, current Acting Secretary of the KDOL in order for her to introduce herself to the committee. Ms. Schultz discussed her background and strategies for get the system back on track. She called upon Mr. Brady to explain the agencies efforts to recover fraudulent disbursements, the plan to replenish the lost funds and the progress toward the current system modernization efforts. He referenced the following three agency literature pieces:
KDOL Draft Flyer
KDOL WEB Page Overview
KDOT Employer Overview
Chairman Olson allowed Ty Drago with SMART to comment on the labor communities support for most of the bill, but also explained where their are concerns from the perspective of the working person or the employee. He expressed concern regarding the the proposed four to eight week reduction in unemployment duration, the five year penalty and the lack of labor being represented the new board. He was not prepared with any written testimony.
Chairman Olson called upon all the bills stakeholders to meet offline to discuss and overcome their differences on the bill.
Chairman Olson closed the hearing on SB177.
