CHAPTER 158
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 313
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTERS 31 AND 33, TITLE 19, OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Three-fourths of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Chapter 31, Title 19, of the Delaware Code, by striking existing §3133 thereof in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new §3133 to read as follows:
"§3133. Authority to borrow federal funds
The Department is authorized to enter into such agreement as may be necessary to secure any advance or grant of funds by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States in accordance with the authority extended under 51201 of the Federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.A. §1321), as amended, or under any other Act of Congress extending such authority.
Any amount transferred to the Unemployment Trust Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States under the terms of any agreement entered into in accordance with the authority extended in this section shall be repaid to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States from the Unemployment Trust Fund.
Interest on interest-bearing advances from the federal government for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits shall be paid from the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor as provided in §3166 of this Title."
Section 2. Amend §3161, Chapter 31, Title 19, of the Delaware Code by striking existing subsection (I) in its entirety and by substituting in its place a new subsection (1) to read as follows:
"(1) All assessments collected under this part (except the additional emergency assessment required under §3391 of this Title) together with any interest thereon collected prior to October 1, 1967, pursuant to §3357 through §3365 of this Title.
Section 3. Amend §3162(a) Chapter 31, Title 19, of the Delaware Code, by striking the second paragraph thereof in its entirety and by substituting in its place a new paragraph to read as follows:
"Notwithstanding any provisions of law in this State relating to the deposit, administration, release or disbursement of moneys in the possession or custody of this State, after clearance thereof, all moneys in the clearing account derived from assessments (except the additional emergency assessment required wider §3391 of this Title) shall be immediately deposited with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the account of this State in the Unemployment 'Trust Fund established and maintained pursuant to §904 of the Federal Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C.A. S1104), and all moneys derived from the additional emergency assessment required under §3391 of this Title, interest and penalties shall be deposited in the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor established and maintained pursuant to §3166 of this Title. The benefit account shall consist of all moneys requisitioned from this State's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Except as herein otherwise provided, moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts may be deposited by the State Treasurer, under the direction of the Department, in any bank or public depository in which general funds of the State may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance charge or premium shall be paid out of the Fund."
Section 4. Amend Chapter 31, Title 19, of the Delaware Code by striking existing §3166 in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new §3166 to read as follows:
"§166. Special Administration Fund
(a) Creation of Fund. There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as The Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor. This fund shall consist of:
(1) All interest and penalties collected under this part subsequent to September 30, 1967.
(2) All moneys collected pursuant to §3391 of this Title for the payment of interest on federal advances.
(3) All interest on or profits earned by the said Special Administration Fund.
(b) Administration of Fund. All moneys collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the clearing account of the Unemployment Compensation Fund for clearance only and shall not become part of such Fund. After clearance, the moneys shall be deposited in the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor. All moneys in this fund shall be prudently invested to the credit of this fund, administered and disbursed in the same manner as is provided by law for other special funds in the State Treasury and such moneys shall be maintained in a separate ledger account on the books of the Secretary of Finance. The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of and shall be liable on his official bond for the faithful performance of his duties in connection with the fund. Such liability on the official bond shall exist In addition to the liability upon any separate bond which may be given by the State Treasurer. All sums recovered on any such official bond for losses substained by the fund shall be deposited in the fund. Balances to the credit of the fund shall not lapse at any time but shall be continuously available to the Secretary of Labor for expenditures consistent with this section.
(c) Use of Fund. The moneys in the Special Administration Fund may he used by the Department fort
(1) The payment of costs of the administration of this part which are not properly and validly chargeable against federal granted funds received for or in the Unemployment Compensation Administration Fund, or where properly and validly chargeable against said fund's, but where said funds are depleted or not available.
(2) Replacement, within a reasonable time and subject to §3165 of this Title, of any moneys received by this State in the form of grants from the federal government for administrative expenses which because of any action or contingency have been lost or have been expended for purposes other than or in amounts In excess of those considered by the United States Secretary of Labor to be necessary for the proper and efficient administration of this part;
(3) A revolving fund to cover expenditures for which federal funds have been duly requested but not yet received, subject to the replacement of the amount expended when such funds are received, and refunds of erroneously collected interest and penalties subject to §3365 of this Title;
(4) Refunds of overpayments to this fund subject to the time limit provisions of §3365 of this Ti tic.
(5) The payment of interest on advances from the federal government for unemployment compensation benefits.
(d) The Secretary of Labor, whenever he determines that the money in the Special Administration Fund is more than adequate to pay for all foreseeable needs for which this fund is created, may authorize the transfer therefrom to the Unemployment Trust Fund of such amount as he deems proper."
Section 5. Amend Chapter 33, Title 19 of the Delaware Code by striking existing §3360 in its entirety and by substituting in lieu thereof a new §3360 to read as follows:
"§3360. Assessments, penalties and interest as debt to Fund; reduction to Judgment.
The assessments, penalties and interest due from the employer under this chapter, from the time they become due, shall be a debt of the employer to the Unemployment Compensation Fund and may be reduced to judgment in accordance with §3358 and §3361 of this Title, except that the interest and penalty from the employer under this Title after September 30, 1967, and the additional emergency assessment required under §3391 of this Title shall be a debt of the employer to the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor."
Section 6. Amend §3365(a) Chapter 33, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by striking the period "." at the end of the first sentence and adding thereto the following words, "except that refunds of the uddtionnl emergency assessment required under §3391 of this Title shall be from the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor."
Section 7. Amend §3365(b) Chapter 33, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by striking the words from the Fund into which such payment was deposited" as they appear therein and substituting in lieu thereof the words from the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor".
Section 8. Amend Chapter 33, Title 19 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subchapter VI thereto to read as follows:
"Subchapter VI. Temporary Emergency Employer Assessment
§3391. Payment of interest on federal loans- additional assessment.
(a) In addition to all other assessments due under this chapter if, in any calendar year, the Department has an outstanding balance of interest accrued on advances from the federal government for the payment of benefits, or is projected to have an outstanding balance of accruing Interest, such interest cost shall be assessed against each employer subject to experience rating. This assessment shall not apply to any governmental entity or instrumentality nor to those nonprofit organizations that are reimbursable.
(b) The assessment shall be at a rate determined by dividing the interest described in subsection (a) of this section by ninety-five percent of the total taxable wages paid by all Delaware employers in the preceding calendar year. The percent resulting from this calculation shall contain four significant figures. Each employer's assessment shall be the product obtained by multiplying such employer's total taxable wages for the preceding calendar year by the rate specified in this subsection.
(c) Each employer shall be notified of the amount due under this section by June 30 of each year and such amount shall be considered delinquent thirty days thereafter. Interest shall accrue on all unpaid assessments under this section at the same rate as on regular assessments as prescribed in §3357 of this Title and shall be collectible in the same manner. The assessment shall not affect the computation of regular assessments under this chapter.
(d) All amounts collected under this section shall be deposited in the Special Administration Fund of the Department of Labor."
Approved July 13, 1983.