FT. CARSON - Spouses of active duty military are one step closer to collecting unemployment insurance if they are transferred elsewhere.
The bill's sponsor, Representative Amy Stephens, of Monument, says those spouses and their employers are forced to pay for unemployment insurance, but can't collect it if they are transferred.
House Bill 1180 stipulates that a spouse must have worked in the state of Colorado for at least one year in order to be eligible.
There are roughly 10,000 whose spouses are stationed at Fort Carson who would be eligible under the new guidelines, if the bill is passed. Nationwide, in any one year, at any given time, 37% of the military members will transfer.
"For the first time we honor our active duty military by saying, ‘You paid into this fund, you're transferred, you go to a new state, if you need the support, it's here for you,'" said Stephens.
It would reduce the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund by $1 Million per year.
But would the bill drive taxes up? Representative Stephens says it's highly unlikely.
40 states currently make the unemployment insurance available to spouses of active duty military, but only 1% actually tap into it in each state. Given those statistics, Stephens doesn't expect more than 300 spouses to apply.
"If you balloon from 3 to 500 can we handle it? Yes. It's going to take a whole, whole lot of reduce the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund before this bill ever impacts it," said Stephens.
HB 1180 passed out of the house with a majority vote. It heads to the state Senate Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Email This Page!