Bill
HB 5001
Michigan raises unemployment benefits for dependents on a phased schedule (2025-2028), increasing per-dependent amounts and the maximum weekly benefit, with indexing after 2028.
Status & procedural history (select)
- Introduced: March 13, 2025 (House). Re-introduced/entered record Sept. 18, 2025.
- Passed both chambers (House amendments concurred; companion SB 1639).
- Signed by Governor: June 23, 2025. Enacted as Public Act 25‑67 (Ch. 2025‑67).
- Referred to Committee on Economic Competitiveness (most recent referral noted 09/18/2025).
Purpose
- To amend section 27 of the Michigan Employment Security Act to change how weekly unemployment benefits are calculated by increasing the per‑dependent allowance and raising the maximum weekly benefit rate on a phased schedule (2025–2028 and thereafter by an index mechanism).
Key provisions
- Base formula retained: weekly benefit rate = 4.1% of wages paid in the highest‑paying calendar quarter of the base period, plus an amount for dependents (up to 5 dependents).
- Phased increases to the per‑dependent allowance and maximum weekly benefit:
- For claims filed on or after Jan 1, 2025: $12.66 per dependent; max weekly benefit $446.
- For claims filed on or after Jan 1, 2026: $19.33 per dependent; max $530.
- For claims filed on or after Jan 1, 2027: $26.00 per dependent; max $614.
- For claims filed on or after Jan 1, 2028: per‑dependent amount and maximum weekly benefit adjusted under subsection (r) (an indexing/adjustment mechanism referenced in the statute).
- Prior law: per‑dependent allowance was $6 and the cap was $362 (pre‑Jan 1, 2025).
- Other statutory provisions preserved or restated:
- Dependent definitions (who qualifies as a dependent) remain unchanged (children, spouse, parents over 65 or permanently disabled, certain siblings).
- Verification procedures for claimed dependents required by the unemployment insurance agency.
- Fraud penalties for falsely claiming dependents (refs to sections 54 and 54c).
- Weekly benefit rates continue to be rounded down to the next lower multiple of $1.00.
Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: unemployed individuals — especially those with dependents — who will receive higher weekly benefits under the phased schedule.
- Employers and the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund: higher benefit payouts likely increase UI fund expenditures and could affect employer UI tax rates or solvency pressures (no fiscal figures provided in the bill text).
- State agencies: Department/agency administering unemployment benefits must implement verification procedures and apply the new calculation and indexing rules.
Implementation/timing
- The increases are tied to the date the claim is filed (effective Jan 1 of 2025, 2026, 2027, and a new indexing rule starting Jan 1, 2028).
- Existing benefit‑year rules (dependents fixed at the beginning of the benefit year) remain in force.
Notes
- The bill references an adjustment mechanism in subsection (r) for post‑2027 amounts; subsection (r) is not detailed in the excerpt provided.
- Fiscal impacts (cost to the UI trust fund, employer tax implications) are not quantified in the text included here; related fiscal analyses would be in Office of Fiscal Analysis materials.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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