House Bill No. 355

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act Requiring Payment of Wages and Benefits to Noncertified School Employees During Emergency School Closures; Allowing Payment of Unemployment Insurance Benefits to Noncertified School Employees Between Academic Terms and During Vacations and Holidays; amending sections 20-9-806 and 39-51-2108, MCA; and providing an immediate effective date and applicability dates."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



Section 1.  Section 20-9-806, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-9-806.   School closure by declaration of emergency. If a school is closed by reason of a declaration of emergency by the governor,:

(1) the pupil-instruction days lost during the closure need not be rescheduled to meet the minimum requirement for pupil-instruction days that a school district must shall conduct during the school year in order to be entitled to full annual equalization apportionment; and

(2) noncertified school employees must receive full wages and benefits for the pupil-instruction days that are not rescheduled."



Section 2.  Section 39-51-2108, MCA, is amended to read:

"39-51-2108.   Payment of benefits based on service in public, charitable, or educational organizations. (1) Benefits based on service in employment defined in subsections (5) and (6) of 39-51-203(5) and (6) and subsections (2) and (3) of 39-51-204(2) and (3) are payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as compensation payable on the basis of other service subject to this chapter, except that. However, benefits based on service in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity for an educational institution may not be paid to an individual for any week of unemployment which that begins during the period between two successive academic years or during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's contract if the individual has a contract or reasonable assurance of a contract to perform services in any such capacity for any such educational institution for both such academic years or both such terms.

(2)  Benefits based on services in any other capacity for an educational institution shall be denied to any individual for any week which commences during a period between 2 successive academic years or terms if the individual performs such services in the first of such academic years or terms and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such services in the second of such academic years or terms. If any individual is denied benefits and was not offered an opportunity to perform such service for the educational institution for the second of such academic years or terms, such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of the benefits for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for benefits and for which benefits were denied solely by reason of the denial provided for in this section.

(3)  Benefits based on services described in subsections subsection (1) and (2) of this section shall must be denied to any individual for any week which that commences during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if such the individual performs such the services in the period immediately before such the vacation period or holiday recess and there is reasonable assurance that such the individual will perform such the service in the period immediately following such the vacation period or holiday recess.

(4)(3)  Benefits based on services described in subsections subsection (1) and (2) of this section to an individual who performed such the services for an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency shall must be denied as specified in subsections (1), and (2), and (3) of this section. The term "educational service agency" means a governmental agency or governmental entity which that is established and operated exclusively for the purpose of providing such service to one or more educational institutions."



NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Applicability. (1) [Section 1] applies retroactively, within the meaning of 1-2-109, to emergency closures on or after January 1, 1997.

(2) [Section 2] applies to claims for benefits that are made after [the effective date of this act].



NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

-END-