News
Is Unemployment Compensation Reform Scrapped At The Statehouse?
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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The new House speaker says now that the seven week long fight to elect him is over, it’s time to regain focus on several big issues. Among those – an effort to reform the state’s unemployment compensation fund.
It’s been more than a year and half since top House leaders joined business and labor groups, pledging to shore up the fund that pays benefits to laid off workers.
Republican House Speaker Ryan Smith said the state will go into debt to the feds unless a fix is passed.
“That’s where the rub comes in because is it a matter of truncating benefits? Is it a matter of businesses paying more? Where’s the sweet spot? And I think Representative Schuring is trying to find that sweet spot. And it has, as it’s always been, a tough issue.”
Labor and business groups are against the current House bill, each claiming they’re shouldering too much of the burden.
Ohio just paid off the more than $3 billion it borrowed from the feds in the last recession.