Ohio lawmakers approve temp fix for unemployment comp system

By Marc Kovac

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

State lawmakers approved a temporary fix for the state’s unemployment compensation system that Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign before the end of the year.

The final legislation was a revamped unemployment compensation-reform package negotiated with business and labor groups as a stopgap until final legislation can be developed early next year.

The temporary fix calls for a two-year freeze on unemployment benefits starting in 2018, a slight increase in taxes paid by employers into the system and elimination of interest penalties paid by employers when the state has to borrow from the federal government to cover benefits. Those measures could be short-lived, however, as lawmakers eye passage of another bill by April.

“Finally, labor and the business owners and both sides of the aisle are going to come together and try to come up with a fair solution,” said Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, ranking minority member of the House’s Finance Committee, which worked on the bill.

Backers said changes are needed to ensure the future solvency of the state’s jobless-assistance program after the state had to borrow billions from the federal government to meet its unemployment compensation obligations during the 2008 recession.

Lawmakers made provisions earlier this year to pay off the remainder of that debt.