129th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 1911 LR 3028(03)
An Act To Amend the Unemployment Compensation Laws
Fiscal Note for Bill as Engrossed with:
C "A" (S-388)
Committee: Labor and Housing
             
Fiscal Note
Eliminates need for future appropriation - General Fund
Fiscal Detail and Notes
Under current law, beginning January 1, 2022, unemployment benefits paid to an individual must be charged against the experience rating record of the individual's employers in a ratio inversely proportional to the claimant's employment beginning with the most recent employer.  The Bureau of Unemployment Compensation within the Department of Labor has indicated that implementing the changes necessitated by current law would require a one-time General Fund appropriation of $1.5 million for the cost associated with changes to its computer system. This legislation removes the changes to the experience rating methodology for assessing employer liability of unemployment benefit costs, therefore eliminating the need for a future General Fund appropriation.
Removing the changes to the experience rating methodology for assessing employer liability of unemployment benefit costs will also affect the calculation of individual employers' unemployment tax rates.  The impact to employers can not be determined.