1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; extending the period of 
  1.3             availability of certain extra unemployment benefits; 
  1.4             amending Laws 2002, chapter 380, article 1, section 5, 
  1.5             subdivisions 3, 5, 6. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Laws 2002, chapter 380, article 1, section 5, 
  1.8   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.] An applicant described 
  1.10  in subdivision 1 is eligible to collect benefits for any week 
  1.11  through December 31, 2003 March 31, 2004, if: 
  1.12     (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with 
  1.13  the employer responsible for the layoff described in subdivision 
  1.14  1; 
  1.15     (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of 
  1.16  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085; 
  1.17     (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification 
  1.18  under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095; 
  1.19     (4) the applicant is not entitled to any regular, 
  1.20  additional, or extended unemployment benefits for that week and 
  1.21  the applicant is not entitled to receive unemployment benefits 
  1.22  under any other state or federal law or the law of Canada for 
  1.23  that week; and 
  1.24     (5) the applicant is enrolled in, or has within the last 
  1.25  two weeks successfully completed, a program that qualifies as 
  2.1   reemployment assistance training under the state dislocated 
  2.2   worker program, except that an applicant whose training is 
  2.3   scheduled to begin in more than 30 days may be considered to be 
  2.4   in training if:  
  2.5      (i) the applicant's chosen training program does not offer 
  2.6   an available start date within 30 days; 
  2.7      (ii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training on the 
  2.8   earliest available start date for the chosen training program; 
  2.9   and 
  2.10     (iii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training in no 
  2.11  more than 60 days. 
  2.12     If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account 
  2.13  at any time after exhausting regular unemployment benefits as a 
  2.14  result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the applicant must 
  2.15  apply for and exhaust entitlement to those new regular or any 
  2.16  other type of unemployment benefits under any state or federal 
  2.17  law. 
  2.18     Sec. 2.  Laws 2002, chapter 380, article 1, section 5, 
  2.19  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 5.  [MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.] 
  2.21  The maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits available 
  2.22  is 13 26 times the applicant's weekly extra unemployment benefit 
  2.23  amount. 
  2.24     Sec. 3.  Laws 2002, chapter 380, article 1, section 5, 
  2.25  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.26     Subd. 6.  [PROGRAM EXPIRATION.] This extra unemployment 
  2.27  benefit program expires December 31, 2003 March 31, 2004.  No 
  2.28  extra unemployment benefits shall be paid under this section 
  2.29  after the expiration of this program. 
  2.30     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.31     Sections 1 to 3 are effective retroactive to December 31, 
  2.32  2003.