HB24: Employment Commission; required to close Commonwealth-operated employment offices.

HOUSE BILL NO. 24
Offered January 9, 2008
Prefiled November 30, 2007
A BILL to amend and reenact § 60.2-110 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Employment Commission; employment offices.
Patrons-- Marshall, D.W. and Merricks

Committee Referral Pending

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 60.2-110 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 60.2-110. State Job Service and Unemployment Insurance Services Division; priority for closure of employment offices.

A. The Commission may establish two coordinate divisions: the Virginia State Job Service, created pursuant to § 60.2-400, and the Unemployment Insurance Services Division. Each division shall be responsible for the discharge of its distinctive functions. Each division shall be a separate administrative unit, with respect to personnel, budget, and duties, except insofar as the Commission may find that such separation is impracticable. In lieu, however, of establishing the two divisions the Commission may cooperate with and utilize the personnel and services of employment offices or services operated by the United States or any of its authorized agencies but only to the extent necessary for the federal employment offices or services to perform the functions imposed upon employment offices by § 60.2-601 and subdivision 5 of § 60.2-612.

B. In the event that the Commission is required, as a result of reductions in the amount of Federal Unemployment Tax Act revenue distributed by the U.S. Department of Labor to the Commission for administration of the Commonwealth's unemployment insurance program, to reduce the number of employment offices operated by the Commonwealth or maintained as part of a state-controlled system of public employment offices, then the Commission shall close the requisite number of employment offices in accordance with the following:

1. The Commission shall rank, on an annual basis, all of such employment offices based on the rate of unemployment within the political subdivision or subdivisions of the Commonwealth served by the employment office; and

2. If the Commission is required to reduce the number of such offices, it shall direct the closing of offices in the order established by the most recent ranking performed pursuant to subdivision 1, to the end that employment offices serving the political subdivision or subdivisions with the lowest rate of unemployment are closed before any employment office serving a political subdivision or subdivisions with a higher rate of unemployment.