A5531 —

A5531 AAPFISCAL StatementESTIMATE 12/13/21LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLYFISCAL APPROPRIATIONSESTIMATE COMMITTEE   STATEMENT TO   ASSEMBLY, No.

5531   STATE OF NEW JERSEY 219th LEGISLATURE   DATED:

 DECEMBERDECEMBER 13,16, 2021         SUMMARY The  AssemblySynopsis: Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No.

5531.Exempts certain commercial fishermen from coverage under “unemployment compensation law.” Type of Impact:

     Annual Thisdecrease billin exemptsrevenue fromand coverageexpenditures underto the "unemploymentUnemployment compensationCompensation law,"Fund. R.S.43:21-1 et seq., any services provided by a commercial fisherman whose compensation is comprised solely of a percentage of fish caught or a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the catch.  The exempted commercial fisherman would not be subject to unemployment insurance (UI) taxes and not be eligible for UI benefits.

     Agencies AsAffected: reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No.

5531Department isof identicalLabor and Workforce Development     Office of Legislative Services Estimate Fiscal Impact Annual   Expenditure Decrease to SenateUI BillFund No.Indeterminate   Revenue Decrease to UI Fund Indeterminate         ·         The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) notes that the bill will result in annual indeterminate, likely marginal, decreases in revenues and expenditures to the Unemployment Compensation (UI) Fund.  The revenue and expenditure decreases will be realized by exempting commercial fishermen, whose compensation is comprised solely of a percentage of fish caught or a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the catch, from UI compensation benefits and also exempting them from liability to UI taxes.

3501  which·         wasThe OLS also reportednotes bythat the committeebill onmay thispotentially date.decrease revenues and expenditures to the State Disability Benefit Fund by an indeterminate and nominal amount.

  FISCAL  IMPACT:BILL DESCRIPTION         This bill exempts from coverage under the unemployment compensation law any services provided by a commercial fisherman whose compensation is comprised solely of a percentage of fish caught or a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the catch.  The exempted commercial fisherman would not be subject to UI taxes and not be eligible for UI benefits.

     FISCAL TheANALYSIS Office  ofEXECUTIVE LegislativeBRANCH Services  (OLS)      notesNone thatreceived. the bill will result in annual indeterminate, likely marginal, decreases in revenues and expenditures to the Unemployment Compensation (UI) Fund.  The revenue and expenditure decreases will be realized by exempting commercial fishermen, whose compensation is comprised solely of a percentage of fish caught or a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the catch, from UI compensation benefits and also exempting them from liability to UI taxes.  The OLS also notes that the bill may potentially decrease revenues and expenditures to the State Disability Benefit Fund by an indeterminate and nominal amount.

  OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES         The OLS notes that the bill will result in annual indeterminate, likely marginal, decreases in revenues and expenditures to the UI Fund.  The revenue and expenditure decreases will be realized by exempting commercial fishermen, whose compensation is comprised solely of a percentage of fish caught or a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the catch, from UI compensation benefits and also exempting them from liability to UI taxes.        The OLS also notes that, while the bill does not have an explicit impact on either the Temporary Disability Leave or Family Leave programs, exempting the abovementioned fishermen may potentially result in an indeterminate, likely nominal, impact to the State Disability Benefit Fund.  Under the statute governing programs, a covered individual is defined as any person who is in employment, as defined in the unemployment compensation law.  By exempting commercial fishermen from the definition of employment in the UI law, the bill may lead to an indeterminate decrease in revenues and expenditures to the State Disability Benefit Fund.

    Section:

Commerce, Labor and Industry Analyst:

Juan C.

Rodriguez Senior Fiscal Analyst Approved:

Thomas Koenig Legislative Budget and Finance Officer     This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

  This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).