[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3463 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3463
To amend titles III and IV of the Social Security Act to improve the
administration of unemployment taxes and benefits.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 6, 2003
Mr. Herger (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Pomeroy, Mrs.
Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Rangel, Mr. McInnis, Mr. Levin, Mr.
McDermott, and Mr. Sandlin) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend titles III and IV of the Social Security Act to improve the
administration of unemployment taxes and benefits.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``SUTA Dumping Prevention Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF UNEMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE UPON TRANSFER OR
ACQUISITION OF A BUSINESS.
(a) In General.--Section 303 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
503) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(k)(1) For purposes of subsection (a), the unemployment
compensation law of a State must provide--
``(A) that if an employer transfers its business to another
employer, and both employers are (at the time of transfer)
under substantially common ownership, management, or control,
then the unemployment experience attributable to the
transferred business shall also be transferred to (and combined
with the unemployment experience attributable to) the employer
to whom such business is so transferred,
``(B) that unemployment experience shall not, by virtue of
the transfer of a business, be transferred to the person
acquiring such business if--
``(i) such person is not otherwise an employer at
the time of such acquisition, and
``(ii) the State agency finds that such person
acquired the business solely or primarily for the
purpose of obtaining a lower rate of contributions,
``(C) that unemployment experience shall (or shall not) be
transferred in accordance with such regulations as the
Secretary of Labor may prescribe to ensure that higher rates of
contributions are not avoided through the transfer or
acquisition of a business,
``(D) that meaningful civil and criminal penalties are
imposed with respect to--
``(i) persons that knowingly violate or attempt to
violate those provisions of the State law which
implement subparagraph (A) or (B) or regulations under
subparagraph (C), and
``(ii) persons that knowingly advise another person
to violate those provisions of the State law which
implement subparagraph (A) or (B) or regulations under
subparagraph (C), and
``(E) for the establishment of procedures to identify the
transfer or acquisition of a business for purposes of this
subsection.
``(2) For purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `unemployment experience', with respect to
any person, refers to such person's experience with respect to
unemployment or other factors bearing a direct relation to such
person's unemployment risk;
``(B) the term `employer' means an employer as defined
under the State law;
``(C) the term `business' means a trade or business (or an
identifiable and segregable part thereof);
``(D) the term `contributions' has the meaning given such
term by section 3306(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
``(E) the term `knowingly' means having actual knowledge of
or acting with deliberate ignorance of or reckless disregard
for the prohibition involved; and
``(F) the term `person' has the meaning given such term by
section 7701(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.''.
(b) Study and Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Study.--The Secretary of Labor shall conduct a study of
the implementation of the provisions of section 303(k) of the
Social Security Act (as added by subsection (a)) to assess the
status and appropriateness of State actions to meet the
requirements of such provisions.
(2) Report.--Not later than July 15, 2006, the Secretary of
Labor shall submit to the Congress a report that contains the
findings of the study required by paragraph (1) and
recommendations for any Congressional action that the Secretary
considers necessary to improve the effectiveness of section
303(k) of the Social Security Act.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall,
with respect to a State, apply to certifications for payments (under
section 302(a) of the Social Security Act) in rate years beginning
after the end of the 26-week period beginning on the first day of the
first regularly scheduled session of the State legislature beginning on
or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) the term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands;
(2) the term ``rate year'' means the rate year as defined
in the applicable State law; and
(3) the term ``State law'' means the unemployment
compensation law of the State, approved by the Secretary of
Labor under section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
SEC. 3. USE OF NEW HIRE INFORMATION TO ASSIST IN ADMINISTRATION OF
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAMS.
Section 453(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Information comparisons and disclosure to assist in
administration of unemployment compensation programs.--
``(A) In general.--If, for purposes of
administering an unemployment compensation program
under Federal or State law, a State agency responsible
for the administration of such program transmits to the
Secretary the names and social security account numbers
of individuals, the Secretary shall disclose to such
State agency information on such individuals and their
employers maintained in the National Directory of New
Hires, subject to this paragraph.
``(B) Condition on disclosure by the secretary.--
The Secretary shall make a disclosure under
subparagraph (A) only to the extent that the Secretary
determines that the disclosure would not interfere with
the effective operation of the program under this part.
``(C) Use and disclosure of information by state
agencies.--
``(i) In general.--A State agency may not
use or disclose information provided under this
paragraph except for purposes of administering
a program referred to in subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Information security.--The State
agency shall have in effect data security and
control policies that the Secretary finds
adequate to ensure the security of information
obtained under this paragraph and to ensure
that access to such information is restricted
to authorized persons for purposes of
authorized uses and disclosures.
``(iii) Penalty for misuse of
information.--An officer or employee of the
State agency who fails to comply with this
subparagraph shall be subject to the sanctions
under subsection (l)(2) to the same extent as
if such officer or employee was an officer or
employee of the United States.
``(D) Procedural requirements.--State agencies
requesting information under this paragraph shall
adhere to uniform procedures established by the
Secretary governing information requests and data
matching under this paragraph.
``(E) Reimbursement of costs.--The State agency
shall reimburse the Secretary, in accordance with
subsection (k)(3), for the costs incurred by the
Secretary in furnishing the information requested under
this paragraph.''.
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