Category: State
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Kentucky announces plans to launch mobile unemployment insurance office
The Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) announced plans on May 11 to launch a mobile office that aims to help citizens access unemployment insurance services. The office aims to help those in poorer communities complete tasks like filing for unemployment benefits, verifying their identities, and determining their eligibility for benefits. The mobile office will…
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Oklahoma legislature passes unemployment insurance indexing bill
The Oklahoma House of Representatives gave final approval May 17 to House Bill 1933, which would index unemployment insurance benefits, tying the length of benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. The Seante passed the bill April 26. If the governor approves the bill, Oklahoma will provide shorter periods of benefits during times of low unemployment…
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Michigan waives 55,000 pandemic unemployment insurance overpayments
The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency announced May 4 that an additional 55,000 unemployment insurance claimants who received overpayments during the coronavirus pandemic will not have to repay the funds. The agency also said about 400,000 overpayments totalling $4.3 billion had already been forgiven. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a bill Feb. 28 allowing for…
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Colorado legislators pass bill to direct federal funds to repay unemployment insurance debt
Colorado legislators on May 10 passed a bill that would direct $600 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help pay back the state’s $1 billion unemployment insurance trust fund debt to the federal government. The bill would also forgive certain non-fraud overpayments, meaning some workers who received more unemployment insurance payments…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims rise to 203,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose 1,000 for the week ending May 7 to a seasonally adjusted 203,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up from 200,000 to 202,000. The four-week moving average as of May 7 rose to 192,750 from a revised 188,500 as of the week ending April 30. The number…
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Kansas Supreme Court overturns district court ruling, upholds state’s congressional district map
On May 18, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned a district court’s ruling that found that the state’s enacted congressional district boundaries were unconstitutional. In a two-page order, Justice Caleb Stegall wrote for the court, “A majority of the court holds that, on the record before us, plaintiffs have not prevailed on their claims that Substitute…
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Mastriano wins the Republican primary for Governor of Pennsylvania
Doug Mastriano defeated Lou Barletta, Bill McSwain, Dave White, and five other candidates to win the May 17, 2022, Republican primary for Governor of Pennsylvania. Incumbent Tom Wolf (D) was term-limited. The primary featured the most candidates in a Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial primary since at least 1978. The state Republican Party did not endorse a…
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Kotek wins Oregon Democratic primary for governor
ina Kotek defeated Tobias Read and 13 other candidates in the May 17 Democratic primary for governor of Oregon. Incumbent Kate Brown (D) was term-limited and could not run for re-election. The Associated Press’ Sarah Cline wrote: “Oregon hasn’t seen a GOP governor in 35 years. But political experts say Republicans have an opening for victory amid…
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Ohio Secretary of State raises $1.75 million this election cycle
According to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has raised $1.75 million and spent $581,072 between Jan. 1, 2021 and Apr. 13, 2022. LaRose is currently ranked fifth in state-level donations in the 2022 election cycle. LaRose is a member of…