HBA-KDB, SEP H.B. 1109 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1109
By: Goolsby
Economic Development
7/19/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Prior to the 77th Legislature, employers of domestic service workers, such
as nannies and live-in help, paid unemployment insurance taxes quarterly
for each of their employees who made more than $1,000 in a quarter.  Paying
these taxes quarterly may have been inconvenient for these employers
because they normally employ very few employees and may owe a very low
amount.  House Bill 1109 authorizes an employer of domestic service workers
to pay unemployment tax contributions annually. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1109 amends the Labor Code to authorize an employer who employs
a domestic service worker and is not otherwise considered an employer under
the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act to annually report quarterly wages
and pay contributions.  An employer who elects to do so must make the
election, which is not revocable before the second anniversary of the
election date, not later than December 31 of the year before the first
calendar year reported.  Contributions become due and are required to be
reported and paid by each employer not later than January 31 for wages paid
for employment in the preceding calendar year.  The bill also requires an
employer to file, on the request of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC),
reports at other times as necessary to adjudicate a claim or to establish
wage credits. 

The bill requires TWC to estimate a contribution rate, subject to a
correction when a final computation is made if the rate takes effect during
the preceding calendar year for an employer who becomes subject to
contributions for the first time.   The bill requires that any penalty or
interest imposed on an employer who reports annually be computed in the
same manner as for other types of employment.   

The bill provides that, in computing the benefit ratio for employers who
report annually, only taxable wages for which contributions have been paid
to TWC on or before January 31 may be used.  The bill provides that an
employer who reports annually has the same computation date as other
employers, but it is prohibited for the final computation of a rate for the
employer to occur before February 1 of the year following the computation
date.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.