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SB 981

Employment security: other; updates to the employment security act; provide for. Amends secs. 3, 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 6a, 8, 9, 10, and 10a of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.3 et seq.) & repeals secs. 3a, 4a, 6, and 6b - 7 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.3a et seq.).

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Mary Cavanagh

SB 981 updates Michigan's Employment Security Act to boost transparency by making UIA records subject to FOIA, archival rules, and APA-based rulemaking, effective April 2, 2025.

ASSIGNED PA 240'24
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Bill Summary · SB 981

SB 981 — Summary (Michigan Employment Security Act amendments / Public Act 240 of 2024)

Status: Enacted as Public Act 240 of 2024; effective April 2, 2025.
Primary subject: Updates to the Michigan Employment Security Act (MCL 421.3 et seq.) — records retention, public access, rulemaking, organizational/administrative clean‑up, and repeal of obsolete provisions.

Purpose / Intent

SB 981 modernizes and clarifies administrative, records, and public‑access provisions of the Michigan Employment Security Act. The bill increases transparency by making certain Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) writings subject to FOIA and retention/archival rules, aligns UIA rulemaking with the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and repeals several outdated statutory sections.

Key provisions and changes

  • FOIA and archival treatment

    • Requires writings prepared, owned, used, in possession of, or retained by the UIA in the performance of an official function to be subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
    • Makes UIA records available for retention, preservation, and archival under State records statutes (e.g., Management & Budget Act provisions and Michigan History Center Act), except as otherwise limited by §11 of the Employment Security Act (confidential benefit/claim information).
    • Deletes the prior statutory authorization allowing the UIA to destroy original documents after digitization/preservation.

  • Rulemaking and public access to administrative policies

    • Requires the UIA to promulgate rules under the Administrative Procedures Act to implement the Act.
    • Removes the older statutory requirement that the UIA arrange printing/distribution of the Act and its rules; instead, the UIA must make informal rules/administrative policies available on request consistent with confidentiality rules.

  • Administrative/organizational adjustments

    • Removes statutory requirements that certain UIA personnel appointments and delegations be approved by the commission (streamlines director’s authority to appoint staff and delegate).
    • Deletes specific statutory provisions related to bonds and the payment of bond costs from the administration fund.
    • Removes several obsolete or time‑limited statutory provisions (repeals Sections 3a, 4a, 6, and 6b–7 of the 1936 Act), including the Employment Security Advisory Council, certain land/purchase authorities, and transitional wage‑record conversion committees/funding provisions.

  • Miscellaneous

    • Clarifies certain definitions and cross‑references in amended sections (3, 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 6a, 8, 9, 10, and 10a).

Who is affected

  • Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA): recordkeeping, disclosure practices, rulemaking procedures, and internal administrative processes.
  • Claimants and employers: improved public access to UIA writings (subject to confidentiality limits) and potentially more transparent administrative policies.
  • State archival and records management agencies: responsibility for retention/preservation of UIA materials under general records law.
  • Advisory groups and entities referenced in repealed sections (these statutory roles are removed).

Procedural / timeline aspects

  • Effective date: April 2, 2025 (Public Act 240 of 2024).
  • The bill was considered as part of a package of unemployment‑law reforms (tied procedurally with other related bills), but its changes are principally administrative and statutory clean‑up.

Fiscal impact

  • Nonpartisan legislative analyses concluded SB 981 has no significant fiscal impact on State or local government. Any additional workload for record retention or FOIA processing is expected to be manageable within existing appropriations.

Note

SB 981 primarily addresses transparency, records retention, and administrative authority within Michigan’s unemployment insurance framework; it does not change core benefit eligibility or benefit‑level provisions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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