A bill that would drastically cut unemployment passed the House floor yesterday. It now heads to the Senate and is one step closer to becoming law.
House Bill 4 would reduce the length of unemployment insurance benefits. Currently, unemployment benefits can last up to 26 weeks, but under HB4, benefits would be based on the state average unemployment rate. For example, if the state average unemployment rate is under 4.5 percent, benefits would last at most 12 weeks.
The bill would also change job search requirements. Unemployment recipients would need at least five work search activities a week, and further, it adds, at minimum three of those would need to be applying for a job, interviewing, or job shadowing.
Among the opposition is Northern Kentucky Representative Rachel Roberts (D-Newport), who noted the bill would have on women and minorities, particularly when it comes to pay disparity.
“Historically, women and minorities are paid less for the same job,” Roberts said. She then joined with Rep. John Blanton (R-Salyersville).
“I join the gentleman from Magoffin. In pleading with you, I implore you, do not pass this bad bill,” Roberts said.
Roberts, echoing words from former Representative Cluster Howard, who represented the 91st district, then said, “Mr. Speaker, this is a dumb bill.”
In a rare bipartisan effort to with Democrats for a proposed bill to cut unemployment, Blanton urged the House to consider its impact on people in Eastern Kentucky, where many jobs are hard to find, and they have to commute sometimes two hours to get to work. He then tried to pass a floor amendment to keep the length of benefits at 26 weeks, but it failed to pass.
“You see, people drawing unemployment insurance are people who want to work and have been working, but now we’re going to go after them?” Blanton said. “… I would think if we want to solve our workforce participation problem, we would go after that 53,000 that’s not working rather than those 18,000 that are out of work but are willing to work.”
Rep. Josh Bray (R-Mount Vernon) disagreed, however.
“If you want to bring jobs to Eastern Kentucky, we have to improve our workforce participation rate,” Bray said.
Filed by Co-Sponsor Rep. Russell Webber (R-Shepherdsville), he said the bill was a step in the right direction, while it will not solve all of the state’s unemployment problems.
“Right now, 47 percent of the working-age population in Kentucky is not working, so we have 53 percent of our working-age population that is actively working,” Russell said.