SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1300        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 668

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to unemployment insurance reform..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. .  Subsection (2) of paragraph (a) of section 14 of chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the words “employer’s total taxable payroll for the period of twelve consecutive months ending on” and inserting in place thereof the following:- average of the employer’s total taxable payroll for the three years prior to

Section 2.  Said subsection is hereby further amended by striking the words “total taxable payrolls reported by all employers whose experience rate is determined under paragraph (1) of subsection (i), for the period of twelve consecutive months ending on” and inserting in place thereof the following:- average of the total taxable payrolls reported by all employers whose experience rate is determined under paragraph (1) of subsection (i), for the three years preceding

Section 3.  Said subsection is hereby further amended by striking the words “total payrolls reported by all employers liable for contributions under section fourteen for the calendar year” and inserting in place thereof the following:-the average of the total payrolls reported by all employers liable for contributions under section fourteen for the three years

Section 4.  Subsection (1) of paragraph (h) of said section 14 is hereby amended by striking the words “The commissioner shall determine each employer’s total taxable wages for the twelve months” and inserting in place thereof the following:- The commissioner shall determine the average of each employer’s total taxable wages for the three-year

Section 5.  Subsection (2) of paragraph (h) of section 14 of said chapter 151A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the words “commissioner shall determine the total taxable wages of all employers in the commonwealth, whose experience rate is determined under paragraph (1) of subsection (i) during the calendar year” and inserting in place thereof the following:- commissioner shall determine the  average of the total taxable wages of all employers in the commonwealth, whose experience rate is determined under paragraph (1) of subsection (i) for the three-year period

Section 6.  Section 24 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended in subparagraph (a) by striking the words “Have been paid wages in the base period amounting to at least thirty times the weekly benefit rate” and inserting in place thereof the following:- Have been paid wages in at least two quarters of the base period amounting to at least thirty times the weekly benefit rate.