H. B. 2259
(By Delegates Frederick, Stalnaker, Walters,
Rowan and Cann)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small
Business then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §5B-2B-10, relating
to the creation of the Self-Employment Assistance Act which
provides assistance to eligible participants engaged full-time
in starting a business and becoming self-employed; granting
rule-making authority and creating reporting requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §5B-2B-10, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2B. WEST VIRGINIA WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT.
§5B-2B-10. Self-Employment Assistance Act.
(a) The following words and phrases, when used in this
section, shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Center" means the Small Business Development Center of
the West Virginia Development Office.
(2) "Full-time basis" means the devoting of such amount of
time as is prescribed by the Small Business Development Center of
the West Virginia Development Office, on its own or in consultation
with its designated service provider, to be necessary for a program
participant to establish a business and become self-employed.
(3) "Program" means the Self-Employment Assistance Program
established in this section.
(4) "Program participant" means an individual: (A) Who is
selected for participation in the program, at the discretion of the
Small Business Development Center of the West Virginia Development
Office from among individuals who are eligible for regular benefits
and are identified to the West Virginia Development Office, through
a worker profiling system as likely to exhaust regular benefits;
(B) who is eligible for funding for participation in the program;
(C) for whom funding for participation in the program is available;
and (D) who has not been terminated from or voluntarily left the
program.
(5) "Regular benefits" means benefits payable to an individual
under chapter twenty-one-a of this code known as the Unemployment
Compensation Law, or unemployment compensation benefits payable to
federal civilian employees and to ex-service members pursuant to federal law, other than additional and extended benefits.
(6) "Self-employment assistance activities" means activities,
including, but not limited to, entrepreneurial training, business
counseling and technical assistance, approved by the Small Business
Development Center of the West Virginia Development Office, on its
own or in consultation with its designated service provider, for
the program participant. These activities may be provided by
either the Small Business Development Center of the West Virginia
Development Office or its designated service provider.
(7) "Self-employment assistance allowance" means an allowance
in lieu of regular benefits and funded in the same manner as
regular benefits, payable to a program participant who meets the
requirements of this section.
(8) "Unemployment Compensation Law" means chapter twenty-one-a
of this code, known as the Unemployment Compensation Law.
(b) The center shall establish a self-employment assistance
program in accordance with the provision of this section, subject
to the availability of all funds necessary for the program. The
center may implement the program on a pilot basis. Information
about the program shall be made available to potential program
participants.
(c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this
section, the weekly self-employment assistance allowance payable
under this section to a program participant shall be equal to the weekly benefit amount for regular benefits otherwise payable. The
sum of the allowances paid under this section and regular benefits
paid with respect to any benefit year shall not exceed the maximum
amount payable for the benefit year under article six, chapter
twenty-one-a of this code.
(d) Eligibility.
(1) General Rule. The self-employment assistance allowance
described in subsection (c) of this section shall be payable to a
program participant who participates in self-employment assistance
activities and is actively engaged on a full-time basis in efforts
to establish a business and become self-employed. The
self-employment assistance allowance shall be payable at the same
interval, on the same terms and subject to the same conditions as
regular benefits, with the following exceptions: (A) The
requirements of subdivision (1), section one, article six, chapter
twenty-one-a, and subdivision (3), section three, article six,
chapter twenty-one-a of this code are not applicable to such
program participant; and (B) such program participant shall be
considered to be unemployed under article six, chapter twenty-one-a
of this code known as the Unemployment Compensation Law.
(2) Ineligibility. A program participant who fails to
participate in self-employment assistance activities or who fails
to actively engage on a full-time basis in efforts to establish a
business and become self-employed shall be ineligible for self-employment assistance allowance for a week in which such
failure occurs.
(e) A program participant may be terminated from the program
by the center if the individual fails to participate in
self-employment assistance activities or fails to actively engage
on a full-time basis in efforts to establish a business and become
self-employed. Individuals who are terminated from or voluntarily
leave the program may receive, if otherwise eligible, regular
benefits with respect to the benefit year, provided that the sum of
the regular benefits paid and self-employment assistance allowances
paid with respect to the benefit year shall not exceed the maximum
amount payable for the benefit year under article six, chapter
twenty-one-a of this code.
(f) For a specific time period, the number of program
participants receiving a self-employment assistance allowance under
this section may not exceed five percent of the number of
individuals receiving regular benefits during that time period.
(g) Self-employment assistance allowances paid under this
section shall be charged to employers as regular benefits are
charged under the Unemployment Compensation Law.
(h) Applicability of Unemployment Compensation Law.
(1) Except where inconsistent with this section, all terms and
conditions of federal law and the Unemployment Compensation Law
applicable to regular benefits shall be applicable to self-employment assistance allowances under this section.
(2) Article seven, chapter twenty-one-a of this code shall
apply to determinations under this section.
(i) The center may propose rules for legislative approval in
accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
to carry out the purposes of this section.
(j) The center shall make a report of the program provided in
this section to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Workforce
Investment for Economic Development by the first day of January,
two thousand six and annually by the first day of January
thereafter. This report shall include annual data on the number of
program participants and the number of businesses developed under
the program, business survival data, the cost of operating the
program, compliance with the program requirements and data related
to business income, the number of employees and wages paid in the
new businesses and the incidence and duration of unemployment after
business start-up. The report may also include any recommended
changes in the program.
(k) The provisions of this section shall apply to those weeks
commencing after the following, whichever is later: (1) Ninety
days after the enactment of this section; or (2) the date of notice
published the state register that this act and the center's
implementation plan have been approved by the United States
Department of Labor. The application of this act shall terminate as of the end of the week preceding the date that federal law no
longer authorizes the provisions of this act.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the
Self-Employment Assistance Act.
§5B-2B-10 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
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