Revision: March 27, 2009, midnight
SB 89-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/11/09 0389s
2009 SESSION
08/05
SENATE BILL 89-FN
COMMITTEE: Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection
This bill grants immunity from liability for certain recipients of unemployment overpayments.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/11/09 0389s
09-0948
08/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to unemployment overpayments.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Overpayments. Amend RSA 282-A:165 to read as follows:
282-A:165 Overpayments.
I. Any person who has received any benefits under this chapter while any conditions for the receipt of benefits imposed by this chapter were not fulfilled or while [he] the person was disqualified from receiving benefits shall be liable to repay to the commissioner such benefits all of which shall be considered to be overpayments [unless such benefits were received by him solely through error or inadvertence of the commissioner or his authorized representative as defined by the rules of the commissioner].
II. Liability shall not exist where the person receiving benefits is without fault in causing the overpayment as defined by the rules of the commissioner.
III. No such overpayment shall exist unless a determination has been made by [a certifying officer] the commissioner or an authorized representative setting forth the facts causing the creation of the overpayment and notice of such determination has been sent to the claimant who may appeal in the manner set forth in RSA 282-A:42-68. Such determination shall be made within 2 years of the weeks affected thereby and shall include notice of the compromise process under RSA 282-A:29.
[II.] IV. The commissioner shall collect any overpayment created under this chapter by civil action in any manner provided for the collection of contributions in RSA 282-A:141-156 and shall withhold, in whole or in part as determined by the commissioner, any future benefits payable to the individual and shall credit such amount withheld against the overpayment until it is repaid in full.
2 Fund Chargeable; Overpayments. Amend RSA 282-A:75 to read as follows:
282-A:75 Fund Chargeable. In assigning the charges for benefits to the account of the most recent employer under this subdivision, no benefits shall be charged to the account of an individual employer but shall be charged by the commissioner against the fund where:
I. Benefits are paid and are not chargeable against any employer's account in accordance with the provisions of RSA 282-A:42 and 44-52; [or]
II. [Repealed.]
III. Benefits are paid to a claimant [solely through error or inadvertence of the commissioner or his authorized representative] as provided in RSA 282-A:165, II.
IV. Benefits are paid to an individual by reason of RSA 282-A:31, III, or
V. Benefits are paid to an individual by reason of RSA 282-A:32, I(a)(3).
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.
LBAO
09-0948
Amended 03/27/09
SB 89 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to unemployment overpayments.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Employment Security states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2009-0389s), may increase state, county, and local expenditures and state restricted revenues by an indeterminable amount in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Employment Security states this bill increases the number of recipients of unemployment which may be granted immunity from liability for overpayments. The Department states $217,825 of non-fraud overpayments were made to claimants in calendar year 2007. The Department assumes though the actual value of overpayments will vary from year to year, $250,000 will be a high-end estimate. The Department assumes 22% of cases may be waived under the proposed bill. Thus, state restricted expenditures may increase by $55,000 annually ($250,000 x 22%).
State, county, and municipal governments will reimburse the Unemployment Trust Fund for overpayments where the claimant is not held liable. Of the workers covered by the Unemployment Trust Fund, 3.4% are state employees, 9.1% are municipal employees, and 0.7% are county employees. For the purposes of estimating expenditures, the Department assumes a proportionate burden. Thus Unemployment Trust Fund revenues and state General Fund expenditures will increase $1,870 annually ($55,000 x 3.4%), unemployment Trust Fund revenues and county expenditures will increase $385 annually ($55,000 x 0.7%), and unemployment Trust Fund revenues and municipal expenditures will increase $5,005 annually ($55,000 x 9.1%).
Because the Department does not have exact data on the percentage of overpayments attributable to sources other than the claimant, and because rules affecting overpayment waivers have not yet been developed, the exact fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time. The recovery of overpayments often occurs over a period of years, and the Department does not have a breakdown of monies recovered attributable to a particular year in which debt was incurred. Write-off debt is not factored into the estimates; therefore actual state restricted expenditures may be lower.
This bill does not include an appropriation.