121st Maine Legislature
		Office of Fiscal and Program Review
		LD 83
		An Act to Expand Unemployment Benefits
		LR 0176(02)
		Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment
		Committee: Labor
		Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
	Undetermined current biennium cost increase - Other Funds
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill would result in additional disbursements from the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.  The Department of Labor estimates the increased benefit cost per claimant to be $3,721.92.  This estimate is based on 2002 data which includes an average weekly benefit of $215.14 and an average duration of 17.3 weeks.  The total cost to the fund will depend on the number of claimants who would be affected by the provisions in this bill.
	The State, a direct reimbursement employer, can avoid additional unemployment compensation costs from this bill if it does not ask for volunteers during layoffs.