83R5235 KSD-F
	By: Williams	S.B. No. 21

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to drug screening or testing as a condition for the receipt
	of unemployment compensation benefits by certain individuals.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 207.021, Labor Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
	(b-1)  An individual for whom suitable work is available only
	in an occupation designated by United States Department of Labor
	regulation as an occupation that regularly conducts preemployment
	drug testing is available for work for purposes of Subsection
	(a)(4) only if the individual complies with the applicable
	requirements of the drug screening and testing program administered
	by the commission under Section 207.026. The commission shall
	adopt rules for determining the type of work that is suitable for an
	individual for purposes of this subsection.
	(b-2)  An individual receiving benefits under this subtitle
	who applies for employment with an employer that requires
	preemployment drug testing and fails that test is not available for
	work for purposes of Subsection (a)(4) and is not eligible to
	continue to receive benefits under this subtitle until the
	individual has complied with the applicable requirements of the
	drug screening and testing program administered by the commission
	under Section 207.026.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 207, Labor Code, is
	amended by adding Section 207.026 to read as follows:
	Sec. 207.026.  DRUG SCREENING OR TESTING AS CONDITION OF
	BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS AND RECIPIENTS. (a)
	The commission by rule shall adopt a drug screening and testing
	program as part of the requirements for the receipt of benefits
	under this subtitle by an individual to whom Section 207.021(b-1)
	or (b-2) applies. The program must:
	(1)  comply with the drug testing requirements of 49
	C.F.R. Part 382 or other similar national requirements for drug
	testing programs recognized by the commission; and
	(2)  be designed to protect the rights of benefit
	applicants and recipients.
	(b)  Under the program, each individual to whom Section
	207.021(b-1) applies who files an initial claim must submit to and
	pass a drug screening assessment developed and administered by or
	on behalf of the commission for purposes of this subsection as a
	prerequisite to receiving benefits under this subtitle. The
	assessment tool used under this subsection must consist of a
	written questionnaire to be completed by the individual applying
	for benefits and must be designed to accurately determine the
	reasonable likelihood that an individual is using a substance that
	is subject to regulation under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.
	An individual whose drug screening assessment indicates a
	reasonable likelihood of use by the individual of a substance
	subject to regulation under that chapter must submit to and pass a
	drug test administered by or on behalf of the commission to
	establish the individual's eligibility for benefits under this
	subtitle. An individual who fails a drug test under this subsection
	is not eligible to receive benefits under this subtitle until the
	individual has passed a subsequent drug test administered by or on
	behalf of the commission not earlier than four weeks after the date
	the individual submitted to the failed drug test.
	(c)  Under the program, each individual to whom Section
	207.021(b-2) applies must disclose the individual's failure of an
	employer-required preemployment drug test to the commission in the
	manner prescribed by the commission for purposes of this subsection
	within 72 hours of receipt by the individual of the notice that the
	individual failed the test. The individual is disqualified from
	continuing to receive benefits under this subtitle until the
	individual has satisfied the eligibility conditions prescribed by
	Subsection (b) for an individual who has failed a drug test
	administered under that subsection.
	(d)  An individual who fails to report test results to the
	commission as required by Subsection (c) must repay the commission
	the amount of any benefits received by the individual under this
	subtitle for a benefit period between:
	(1)  the date on which the individual knows or should
	have known that the individual failed the employer-required
	preemployment drug test; and
	(2)  the date on which the commission receives notice
	that the individual failed that test.
	(e)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b) or (c), an individual is
	not disqualified from receiving benefits based on the individual's
	failure to pass a drug test if, on the basis of evidence presented
	by the individual, the commission determines that:
	(1)  the individual is participating in a treatment
	program for drug abuse; or
	(2)  the failure to pass the test is caused by the use
	of a substance that was prescribed by a physician as medically
	necessary for the individual.
	(f)  The commission by rule shall prescribe procedures for an
	appeal and the retaking of a failed drug test by an individual under
	this section.
	(g)  The commission shall administer the program under this
	section using existing administrative funds and any funds
	appropriated to the commission for the purposes of this section.
	SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
	a claim for unemployment compensation benefits that is filed with
	the Texas Workforce Commission on or after February 1, 2014.
	SECTION 4.  If before implementing any provision of this Act
	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
	waiver or authorization is granted.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.