From the Orlando Sentinel
Uncategorized — posted by khaughney on May, 3 2011 5:06 PM
The Senate passed a major rewrite of the state’s unemployment compensation law Tuesday by a 29-10 vote, but the measure doesn’t go along with a House-passed measure that would restrict state-paid benefits to 20 weeks.
The Senate-passed measure maintains the current maximum of 26 weeks of benefits, if the state’s unemployment rate equals or exceeds 12 percent. State benefits would drop to just 12 weeks when the rate drops to 5 percent or lower.
The Senate bill also requires that people collecting unemployment have a skills review and show proof they’re looking for work. It prohibits people who are in jail from collecting unemployment.
“It cleans up a lot of things that shouldn’t have crawled in there in the first place,” said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, who sponsored the bill. But Detert rejected the 20-week limit, which was a major priority of Florida’s business lobby.
Democrats largely objected to the bill.
“Times are bad,” said Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa. “The Medicaid rolls are full. The food stamp lines are long. And people are standing on corners saying ‘please.’”
