HB3698 - Relating to participation in reemployment services as a condition of eligibility for unemployment benefits.

      H.B. No. 3698         AN ACT   relating to participation in reemployment services as a condition   of eligibility for unemployment benefits.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed   individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if   the individual:                (1)  has registered for work at an employment office   and has continued to report to the employment office as required by   rules adopted by the commission;                (2)  has made a claim for benefits under Section   208.001;                (3)  is able to work;                (4)  is available for work;                (5)  is actively seeking work in accordance with rules   adopted by the commission;                (6)  for the individual's base period, has benefit wage   credits:                      (A)  in at least two calendar quarters; and                      (B)  in an amount not less than 37 times the   individual's benefit amount;                (7)  after the beginning date of the individual's most   recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount   equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;                (8)  has been totally or partially unemployed for a   waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; and                (9)  participates in reemployment services, such as a   job search assistance service, if :                       (A)   the individual has been determined,   according to a profiling system established by the commission, to   be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular benefits and to need   those services to obtain new employment, unless:                             (i)  the commission has determined that   [ (A) ] the individual has completed participation in such a service;   or                             (ii)  [ (B) ]  there is reasonable cause, as   determined by the commission, for the individual's failure to   participate in those services ; or                       (B)     unless there is reasonable cause, as   determined by the commission, for the individual's failure to   participate in those services and regardless of the results of the   individual's assessment conducted under a profiling system   described by Paragraph (A), the commission has determined that the   individual's participation is in furtherance of the following   goals:                             (i)     reducing the duration of unemployment   compensation through improved employment outcomes;                             (ii)     strengthening the integrity of the   unemployment compensation program;                             (iii)     promoting alignment with the vision   of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. Section   3101 et seq.);                             (iv)     establishing the commission's   reemployment services and eligibility assessment program as an   entry point to other workforce system partner programs; and                               (v)     demonstrating the effectiveness of   reemployment services .          SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the   Texas Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this   Act. A claim filed before the effective date of this Act is   governed by the law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and   the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.       ______________________________ ______________________________      President of the Senate Speaker of the House                   I certify that H.B. No. 3698 was passed by the House on April   30, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 1, 1 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House                 I certify that H.B. No. 3698 was passed by the Senate on May   19, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 27, Nays 4.     ______________________________   Secretary of the Senate       APPROVED:  _____________________                      Date                           _____________________                    Governor