Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §1192, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 1983, c. 816, Pt. A, §22, is amended to read:

3. Is able and available for work. He An individual is able to work and is available for full-time work at his the individual's usual or customary trade, occupation, profession or business or in such other trade, occupation, profession or business for which his the individual's prior training or experience shows him the individual to be fitted or qualified; and in addition to having complied with subsection 2 is himself actively seeking work in accordance with the regulations of the commission; provided that no ineligibility may be found solely because the claimant is unable to accept employment on a shift, the greater part of which falls between the hours of midnight to 5 a.m., and is unavailable for that employment because of parental obligation, the need to care for an immediate family member, or the unavailability of a personal care attendant required to assist the unemployed individual who is a handicapped person; and provided that an unemployed individual who is neither able nor available for work due to good cause as determined by the deputy shall be is eligible to receive prorated benefits for that portion of the week during which he the individual was able and available;.

A.__Notwithstanding any other law, beginning June 1, 2003, an individual who is not available for full-time work as required in this subsection is not disqualified from receiving benefits if the person is available for part-time work in accordance with rules adopted by the Department of Labor.__Rules adopted to implement this paragraph are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.__This paragraph is repealed June 1, 2006;

Sec. 2. Department rules and report. Pursuant to the option created by the federal Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, Public Law 107-147, Section 209, which distributes federal funds to state unemployment trust funds, the Department of Labor shall provisionally adopt a rule to implement the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1192, subsection 3, paragraph A as enacted in this Act and shall submit the proposed rule to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters no later than February 1, 2003. In developing the rule, the department shall consult with all interested parties, including representatives of employers and employees. The department shall also submit no later than February 1, 2003 proposed legislation to the First Regular Session of the 121st Legislature to conform the employment security law to coverage of part-time workers. The proposed rule and proposed statutory changes must be designed in a manner that