Senate convenes and introduces #SB3, a bill dealing with unemployment: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/32nd2020Special/Bill/7155/Text

Here's a layman's rundown of what's in it: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/bill-would-allow-people-working-more-hours-to-qualify-for-unemployment-clear-the-way-for-7-extra-weeks-of-payment

. @frcojmorales says the governor's office and DETR have been trying to find flexibilities and waivers to get payments moving up to this point but some of the issues require statutory changes.

Morales: "We just want to make sure that we're able to incentivize low wage workers to continue to go to work, but also access that federal 'plus-up.'"

Bill aims to prepare Nevada for if Congress extends the $600 weekly benefit bonus, or at least some level of bonus.

Sen. Settelmeyer asks if the bill will allow for app-based applications. Gov's office indicates the existing websites will be used for PUA and regular UI claims.

Settelmeyer wonders if this is going to be a significant breakthrough if it's still using traditional sites.

Morales said part of the problem is bringing new apps onto the system could compromise security.

On question of how to help with fraud, DETR's Gaa says having more CARES Act funding to staffing would be helpful.

Bill calls on DETR to define what is a "good cause" for refusing a suitable job and keep drawing benefits in the time of COVID.

Gaa says they do need to make sure things conform with federal law and guidance. Bill has been sent to Dept. of Labor this afternoon for review.

There have been 10-20k people who have started making a bit too much to be eligible for unemployment.

This bill's provisions might bring about half of them in and could mean DETR spends about $2.5 million per week to bring them back into the fold.

Morales said this could help bring in essentially a federal "match" - it will allow more, slightly higher-earning Nevada beneficiaries to qualify for what could be a significant federal benefit bonus and pull that extra money into the Nevada economy.

A side benefit of this bill's provision allowing regular UI beneficiaries an extra seven weeks of possible payments; it would also mean PUA beneficiaries would have a maximum of 46 weeks of benefits, up from 39.

Money for the seven extra weeks of extended benefits that could be triggered through this bill would be fully paid by the federal government. That was a provision in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act - bill passed before CARES Act.

On fraudulent claims, Gaa says there's more of it in PUA because that's for gig workers and lacks employer checks/ balances: "We are seeing significantly higher numbers, that I would say are in the tens of thousands, in comparison to what we're seeing in traditional unemployment"

Gaa says there are "pretty sophisticated schemes in both programs" but again, no solid numbers on how many claims are illegitimate.

Hardy asks if it's 1% or 100% or somewhere in the middle. Gaa says somewhere in the middle.

"Deductible income" - often relatively small vacation or PTO cash outs and such - prompt adjudication and can make someone ineligible for a bit. Morales said at one point there were ~30,000 claims with these kinds of issues on them.

Gaa said DETR has "already received a subpoena from the Office of the Inspector General to review the universe of datasets that we're using to detect fraud."

"Is it possible 200,000 claims" are fraud? "Based on the volume we're seeing, anything is possible."

"We have ongoing investigations on large groups of claims in both programs. So it's hard for me to give you an actual percentage" of the total claims that are fraudulent, Gaa says.

DETR says that it's paid out $6.2 billion in benefits so far this year, as much as it paid out for the entire four years from 2009 to 2012.

Sen. Ira Hansen: "That's flat spooky."

DETR said its regular unemployment site was launched in 2013 so it's relatively new compared with other states.

But it's also had to be reprogrammed after the CARES Act was passed (including to let $600 FPUC kick in) and is updated with new guidance from the feds

Gaa said that if Congress extends FPUC and makes it a flat dollar amount like $300 a week, that would be a fairly quick change to make in the computer system.

If the formula is more complicated and requires a computation based on, say, 75% of past wages, could take months.

Gaa said DETR has seen instances when someone has fraudulently filed for and received benefits on another person's behalf.

Then when that actual person becomes unemployed, they encounter big delays because DETR has to figure out which application is legitimate.

Asked about DETR's long-term plan to avoid getting in this situation again, Morales:

"The question we get a lot is why don't we just knock it down and start all over. But the reality is that a true modernization ... can take anywhere from 24 to 36 plus months."

Between both of the programs (PUA and UI), Gaa said there are close to 200 staff that are doing adjudication work, i.e. making eligibility decisions.

She says there are about 20 "referees" who can hold hearings on appeals.

There are about 2,000 appeals in the PUA program.

Gaa says there are about 20 people in DETR who are focused on dealing with fraud. She hopes to ramp up that workforce by another 50 people.

She can't estimate how long it would take to sort through all fraudulent claims; they take different amounts of time to deal with.

Gaa said DETR is working with vendor to try to add people to help handle hundreds of thousands of emails. Currently, about five people are assigned to that task.

Sen. Pickard is asking whether it'll be OK if every parent is eligible for UI because their children are distance learning because of COVID.

Morales said we don't want to get too in the weeds and decisions made case by case.

Bill text of sample "good causes" >>

Ratti: "I've heard this notion that we need to act w/urgency that there are so many people out there who need help ... I've also heard we must proceed with caution and we can't provide too much discretion ...& I don't think that we can, in this case, have our cake and eat it too"

Morales agrees with Ratti's characterization of bill as giving DETR more latitude, address things via regs: "The problem is that you can't just throw money at the issue. You can't just necessarily just throw more staff. We've got to realize that they are statutory impediments."

After lots of emotional testimony from people who've gone months without unemployment payments, including comments supporting #SB3 that spilled into opposition & neutral testimony time, a motion to pass from committee.

Sen. Hansen calls it the most important bill of the session.

Sen. Ohrenschall says he wants to clarify that while DETR said they saw the current version of the bill at 3:30 today, they had been through five different iterations of the measure and that's a normal part of the process.

Sen. Goicoechea says that while he supports #SB3, he fears that this bill is not going to be "a magic wand" to fix all the existing issues. It's an expansion of the benefits.

Sen. Hardy says he's trying to figure out how to get a bouquet to the head of DETR (presuming he means Gaa)

Sen. Ratti says that while perhaps this bill could have been brought earlier, she knows there has been a ton of work going into developing a list of strategies that could address the DETR backlog.

Sen. Kieckhefer said one of the hardest things about being a legislator has been hearing the stories of people struggling, but being unable to help.

To claimants, he says "sorry." Supports the bill even though he says it isn't going to apply retroactively.