SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2651

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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SECTION 1. Subsection (c) of section 29 of chapter 151A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence.

SECTION 2. Section 30 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 17, the word “if,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- if: (i) in any month during the individual’s benefit year, the requirements of this section have not been met; or (ii) during the benefit year the number of initial claims filed in any week exceeds 100,000, unless the federal government has authorized a period of extended benefits, in which case the total benefits shall remain at 26 times the benefit rate until the federal extended benefits have been exhausted.

SECTION 3. Notwithstanding section 14 of chapter 151A of the General Laws or any general or special law to the contrary, for an individual separated from employment as a result of any circumstance related to or resulting from the effects of the 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, or the effects of the governor’s March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency, benefits paid to that individual under said chapter 151A shall not be charged to the account of any employer nor included in the calculation of an employer’s experience rate; provided, however, that such benefits shall be charged to the solvency account to the extent such benefits are not paid for by federal funds.

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding sections 14A and 14C of chapter 151A of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, for an individual separated from employment as a result of any circumstance related to or resulting from the effects of the 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, or the effects of the governor’s March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency, benefits paid to that individual under said chapter 151A shall not be charged to the account of any employer to the extent that such benefits are paid for by federal funds.

SECTION 5. Notwithstanding section 29 of chapter 151A of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, dependency benefits payable under subsection (c) of said section 29 of said chapter 151A shall be $40 for each unemancipated child of such individual who is in fact dependent upon and is being wholly or mainly supported by such individual and who is under the age of 18, who is 18 years of age or over and incapable of earning wages because of mental or physical incapacity, who is under the age of 24 and is a full-time student at an educational institution that normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly organized body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are carried on or who is in the individual’s custody pending the adjudication of a petition filed by such individual for the adoption of such child in a court of competent jurisdiction, and for each such child for whom the individual is under a decree or order from a court of competent jurisdiction to contribute to such child's support and for whom no other person is receiving allowances hereunder; provided, however, that such child is domiciled within the United States or the territories or possessions thereof.

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding 430 CMR 5.06, 430 CMR 22.06 or any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, a nonprofit organization shall have 120 days from the date of the next scheduled payment due after the effective date of this act to pay contributions or make payment in lieu of contributions pursuant to section 14 or section 14A of chapter 151A of the General Laws without penalty or interest.

SECTION 7. Sections 3 to 5, inclusive, are hereby repealed.

SECTION 8. Section 1 shall take effect 6 months after termination of the governor’s March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency.

SECTION 9. Section 2 shall take effect on January 1, 2021.

SECTION 10. Sections 3 and 4 shall take effect as of March 10, 2020.

SECTION 11. Section 7 shall take effect 1 year from the effective date of this act or 6 months after termination of the governor’s March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency, whichever is later.