JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri House members have passed a bill to reduce
the duration of state jobless benefits to one of the shortest periods
nationally.
House members voted 100-56 Thursday to send the measure to the Senate.
The bill is a revival of a failed 2015 plan to cut the maximum benefits to 13
weeks if the state’s jobless rate is below 6 percent. That’s seven weeks fewer
than what’s now allowed.
Missouri’s unemployment rate in December was 4.4 percent.
The maximum number of weeks will rise under Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick’s proposal
if the unemployment rate creeps above 6 percent, topping out at 20 weeks if the
jobless rate eclipses 9 percent.
The Missouri Supreme Court last year struck down the earlier version of the
proposal on procedural grounds.
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