Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

carson city:

Assembly accepts money for extension of jobless benefits

CARSON CITY – By unanimous vote, the Assembly has approved legislation that accepts federal stimulus money to extend for seven weeks the time a person can draw unemployment benefits.

The bill and the resolution, which go to the Senate, would also make 4,100 more Nevadans eligible to draw jobless benefits.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley said accepting this $270 million will help ease the plight of the jobless and stimulate the economy. “The money in their pockets will be spent,” she said.

Nevada law allows a person to draw unemployment benefits for 72 weeks. Assembly Bill 469 would extend that for seven more weeks. The bill also would change the system for determining if a person is qualified for jobless benefits, making more people eligible.

In addition, the average weekly check of $300 will be increased by $25.

The additional money is paid by the federal government. Nevada’s unemployment rate is 10.1 percent – one of the highest in the nation.

Buckley said Nevada’s unemployment trust fund would be $750 million in the hole by the end of the year. And this infusion will delay the borrowing of money from the federal government at a 5 percent interest.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, after some delay, agreed to accept the stimulus money. But the bill has to be passed to change the qualifications for Nevada to qualify.

Buckley said $77 million of the total will go toward making more people eligible to draw benefits. And that money will last anywhere from four to 10 years. Future legislatures can decide whether to repeal this law.

The extra seven weeks of benefits will automatically end when the federal government stops giving the state the extra money.

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