JEFFERSON CITY: Missouri’s unemployed would again face losing several weeks of jobless benefits under a bill advancing in the state House. House members in a Wednesday voice vote gave the measure initial approval. Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick’s 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. More current data are not available.
The maximum number of weeks will rise under 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.
