SB672: Bill Text

SB672,83 Section 83 . 108.18 (7) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,28,24 108.18 (7) (h) The department shall establish contributions, other than those contributions required by this section and assessments required under s. 108.19 (1), (1e), and (1f) and contributions other than those submitted during the month of November or authorized under par. (f) or (i) 2., as a credit, without interest, against future contributions payable by the employer or shall refund the contributions at the employer's option.

SB672,84 Section 84 . 108.19 (title) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

SB672,29,1 108.19 (title) Special assessments.

SB672,85 Section 85 . 108.19 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 108.19 (1) (a) and amended to read:

SB672,29,11 108.19 (1) (a) Each employer subject to this chapter shall regularly contribute to the administrative account at the rate of two-tenths of one pay an assessment equal to 0.2 percent per year on its payroll, except that the department may prescribe at the close of any fiscal year such lower rates of contribution under this section subsection, to apply to classes of employers throughout the ensuing fiscal year, as will in the department's judgment adequately finance the administration of this chapter, and as will in the department's judgment fairly represent the relative cost of the services rendered by the department to each such class.

SB672,86 Section 86. 108.19 (1) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

SB672,29,14 108.19 (1) (d) Assessments under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (wc).

SB672,87 Section 87 . 108.19 (1e) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,29,22 108.19 (1e) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), each employer, other than an employer that finances benefits by reimbursement in lieu of contributions under s. 108.15, 108.151, or 108.152 shall, in addition to other contributions amounts payable under s. 108.18 and this section, pay an assessment to the administrative account for each year prior to before the year 2010 equal to the lesser of 0.01 percent of its payroll for that year or the solvency contribution that would otherwise be payable by the employer under s. 108.18 (9) for that year.

SB672,88 Section 88 . 108.19 (1e) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:

SB672,29,25 108.19 (1e) (cm) Assessments under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation under s. 20.445 (1) (wh).

SB672,89 Section 89. 108.19 (1e) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,30,7 108.19 (1e) (d) The department may expend the moneys received from assessments levied under this subsection in the amounts authorized under s. 20.445 (1) (gh) (wh) for the renovation and modernization of unemployment insurance information technology systems, specifically including development and implementation of a new system and reengineering of automated processes and manual business functions.

SB672,90 Section 90 . 108.19 (1f) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,30,14 108.19 (1f) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), each employer, other than an employer that finances benefits by reimbursement in lieu of contributions under s. 108.15, 108.151, or 108.152 shall, in addition to other contributions amounts payable under s. 108.18 and this section, pay an assessment for each year equal to the lesser of 0.01 percent of its payroll for that year or the solvency contribution that would otherwise be payable by the employer under s. 108.18 (9) for that year.

SB672,30,16 (d) Assessments under this paragraph subsection shall be deposited in the unemployment program integrity fund.

SB672,91 Section 91 . 108.19 (1f) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,30,21 108.19 (1f) (c) Notwithstanding par. (a), the department may, if it finds that the full amount of the levy is not required to effect the purposes specified in sub. (1s) s. 108.20 (2) (b) for any year, prescribe a reduced levy for that year and in such case shall publish in the notice under par. (b) the rate of the reduced levy.

SB672,92 Section 92 . 108.19 (1m) of the statutes is renumbered 108.19 (1m) (a) and amended to read:

SB672,31,10 108.19 (1m) (a) Each employer subject to this chapter as of the date a rate is established under this subsection shall pay an assessment to the unemployment interest payment fund at a rate established by the department sufficient to pay interest due on advances from the federal unemployment account under Title XII of the federal social security act, 42 USC 1321 to 1324. The rate established by the department for employers who finance benefits under s. 108.15 (2), 108.151 (2), or 108.152 (1) shall be 75 percent of the rate established for other employers. The amount of any employer's assessment shall be the product of the rate established for that employer multiplied by the employer's payroll of the previous calendar year as taken from quarterly employment and wage reports filed by the employer under s. 108.205 (1) or, in the absence of the filing of such reports, estimates made by the department.

SB672,31,12 (d) Each assessment made under this subsection is due within 30 days after the date the department issues the assessment. If the

SB672,31,21 (f) The department shall use amounts collected from employers under this subsection exceed the amounts needed to pay interest due on advances from the federal unemployment account under 42 USC 1321 to 1324. If the amounts collected exceed the amounts needed to pay that interest for a given year, the department shall use any the excess to pay interest owed in subsequent years on advances from the federal unemployment account. If the department determines that additional interest obligations are unlikely, the department shall transfer the excess to the fund's balancing account of the fund, the unemployment program integrity fund, or both in amounts determined by the department.

SB672,93 Section 93 . 108.19 (1m) (e) of the statutes is created to read:

SB672,31,24 108.19 (1m) (e) Assessments under this subsection shall be deposited in the unemployment interest payment fund.

SB672,94 Section 94. 108.19 (1n) of the statutes is renumbered 108.19 (1m) (b) and amended to read:

SB672,32,5 108.19 (1m) (b) The department shall publish as a class 1 notice under ch. 985 any rate established under sub. (1m) par. (a) within 10 days of after the date that the rate is established.

SB672,95 Section 95 . 108.19 (1p) of the statutes is renumbered 108.19 (1m) (c) and amended to read:

SB672,32,10 108.19 (1m) (c) Notwithstanding sub. (1m) par. (a), an employer having a payroll of $25,000 or less for the preceding calendar year is exempt from any assessment under sub. (1m) this subsection.

SB672,96 Section 96 . 108.19 (1q) of the statutes is renumbered 108.20 (3) and amended to read:

SB672,32,16 108.20 (3) Unemployment interest payment fund. There is created a separate, nonlapsible trust fund designated as the unemployment interest payment fund consisting of all amounts collected under sub. s. 108.19 (1m) (a) and all interest and penalties on those amounts collected under s. 108.22.

SB672,97 Section 97 . 108.19 (1s) of the statutes is renumbered 108.20 (2), and 108.20 (2) (a) 3., as renumbered, is amended to read:

SB672,32,19 108.20 (2) (a) 3. Amounts transferred under sub. (1m) s. 108.19 (1m) (f).

SB672,98 Section 98 . 108.19 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 108.19 (1) (b) and amended to read:

SB672,33,3 108.19 (1) (b) If the department finds, at any time within a fiscal year for which it has prescribed lower contribution rates to the administrative account than the maximum rate permitted under sub. (1) par. (a), that such lower rates will not adequately finance the administration of this chapter or are excessive for that purpose, the department may by general rule prescribe a new schedule of rates in no case exceeding the specified maximum to apply under this section subsection for the balance of the fiscal year.

SB672,99 Section 99 . 108.19 (2m) of the statutes is renumbered 108.19 (1) (c) and amended to read:

SB672,33,10 108.19 (1) (c) Within the limit specified by sub. (1) under par. (a), the department may by rule prescribe at any time as to any period any such rate or rates or schedule as it deems necessary and proper hereunder under this subsection. Unless thus prescribed, no such rate or rates or schedule shall apply under sub. (1) or (2) par. (a) or (b).

SB672,100 Section 100 . 108.19 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

SB672,101 Section 101 . 108.19 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 108.18 (1) (c) and amended to read:

SB672,34,2 108.18 (1) (c) If section 303 Notwithstanding par. (b), if 42 USC 503 (a) (5) of title III of the social security act and section 26 USC 3304 (a) (4) of the internal revenue code are amended to permit a state agency to use, in financing administrative expenditures incurred in carrying out its employment security functions, some any part of the moneys collected or to be collected under the state unemployment insurance law, an employer's contributions in partial or complete substitution for grants under title III 42 USC 501 to 506, then this chapter shall, by rule of the department, be modified in the manner and to the extent and within the limits necessary to permit such use by the department under this chapter; and the modifications shall become effective on the same date as such use becomes permissible under the federal amendments the department may credit any portion of that part of an employer's contributions to the appropriation under s. 20.445 (1) (wd).

SB672,102 Section 102 . 108.20 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

SB672,34,7 108.20 Segregated funds. (1) Unemployment administration fund. There is created a separate, nonlapsible trust fund designated as the unemployment administration fund consisting of moneys credited to the appropriation accounts under s. 20.445 (1) (wc), (wd), and (wh).

SB672,34,8 (2) Unemployment program integrity fund.

SB672,103 Section 103 . 108.22 (1) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,34,12 108.22 (1) (am) The interest, penalties, and tardy filing fees levied under pars. (a), (ac), (ad), and (af) shall be paid to the department and credited to the administrative account appropriation under s. 20.445 (1) (wd).

SB672,104 Section 104 . 108.22 (1m) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,35,4 108.22 (1m) If any person owes any contributions, reimbursements or assessments under s. 108.15, 108.151, 108.152, 108.155, or 108.19 (1m), benefit overpayments, interest, fees, payments for forfeitures, other penalties, or any other amount to the department under this chapter and fails to pay the amount owed, the department has a perfected lien upon the right, title, and interest in all of the person's real and personal property located in this state in the amount finally determined to be owed, plus costs. Except where creation of a lien is barred or stayed by bankruptcy or other insolvency law, the lien is effective upon the earlier of the date on which the amount is first due or the date on which the department issues a determination of the amount owed under this chapter and shall continue until the amount owed, plus costs and interest to the date of payment, is paid, except as provided in sub. (8) (d). If a lien is initially barred or stayed by bankruptcy or other insolvency law, it shall become effective immediately upon expiration or removal of such bar or stay. The perfected lien does not give the department priority over lienholders, mortgagees, purchasers for value, judgment creditors, and pledges whose interests have been recorded before the department's lien is recorded.

SB672,105 Section 105 . 108.22 (8e) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,35,11 108.22 (8e) If the department determines a payment has been made to an unintended recipient erroneously without fault on the part of the intended payee or payee's authorized agent, the department may issue the correct payment to the intended payee if necessary, and may recover the amount of the erroneous payment from the recipient under this section or s. 108.225 or 108.245. Any amount so recovered shall be credited to the fund's balancing account.

SB672,106 Section 106 . 108.223 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,35,22 108.223 (2) (b) The department shall enter into agreements with financial institutions doing business in this state to operate the financial record matching program under this section. An agreement shall require the financial institution to participate in the financial record matching program by electing either the financial institution matching option under sub. (3) or the state matching option under sub. (4). The financial institution and the department may by mutual agreement make changes to amend the agreement. A financial institution that wishes to choose a different matching option shall provide the department with at least 60 days' notice. The department shall furnish the financial institution with a signed copy of the agreement.

SB672,107 Section 107 . 108.23 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,36,11 108.23 Preference of required payments. In the event of an employer's dissolution, reorganization, bankruptcy, receivership, assignment for benefit of creditors, judicially confirmed extension proposal or composition, or any analogous situation including the administration of estates in circuit courts, the payments required of the employer under this chapter shall have preference over all claims of general creditors and shall be paid next after the payment of preferred claims for wages. If the employer is indebted to the federal government for taxes due under the federal unemployment tax act and a claim for the taxes has been duly filed, the amount of contributions which should be paid to allow the employer the maximum offset against the taxes shall have preference over preferred claims for wages and shall be on a par with debts due the United States, if by establishing the preference the offset against the federal tax can be secured under s. 26 USC 3302 (a) (3) of the federal unemployment tax act.

SB672,108 Section 108 . 108.24 (3) (a) 3. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,36,15 108.24 (3) (a) 3. a. Refrain from claiming or accepting benefits, participating in an audit or investigation by the department, or testifying in a hearing held under s. 108.09, 108.095, or 108.10.

SB672,109 Section 109 . 108.24 (3) (a) 4. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB672,36,20 108.24 (3) (a) 4. Discriminates or retaliates against an individual because the individual claims benefits, participates in an audit or investigation by the department under this chapter, testifies in a hearing under s. 108.09 , 108.095, or 108.10, or exercises any other right under this chapter.

SB672,110 Section 110 . Fiscal changes.

SB672,37,2 (1) The unencumbered balance in the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (gg), 2017 stats., immediately before the effective date of the repeal of s. 20.445 (1) (gg), 2017 stats., and the unencumbered balance in the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (gm), 2017 stats., immediately before the effective date of the repeal of s. 20.445 (1) (gm), 2017 stats., are transferred to the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (wd), as affected by this act.

SB672,37,4 (2) (a) The unencumbered balance in the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (gc) is transferred to the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (wc).

SB672,37,6 (b) The unencumbered balance in the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (gd) is transferred to the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (wd).

SB672,37,8 (c) The unencumbered balance in the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (gh) is transferred to the appropriation account under s. 20.445 (1) (wh).

SB672,111 Section 111 . Initial applicability.

SB672,37,12 (1) The treatment of ss. 20.445 (1) (gd) (with respect to the payment of benefits charged under s. 108.07 (7)) and 108.07 (7) first applies to claims filed on the effective date of this subsection.

SB672,112 Section 112 . Effective date.

SB672,37,14 (1) This act takes effect on the first Sunday after publication.

SB672,37,15 (End)