# Maine LD 706: An Act Regarding the Laws Relating to Unemployment Insurance Maine LD 706, An Act Regarding the Laws Relating to Unemployment Insurance, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Marshall Archer (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-06-10 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 235); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD706-132 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 706 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act Regarding the Laws Relating to Unemployment Insurance - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-20 - Last action: 2025-06-10, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 235 - Sponsor: Marshall Archer (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, EMPLOYMENT SECURITY - UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 9 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Extra unemployment weeks for dislocated workers: benefit, high. Dislocated workers in commissioner‑approved training can get extra unemployment after they use up other state or federal benefits. The law pays your most recent weekly benefit for each training week, up to 26 weeks. You qualify if you exhausted your benefit year within 30 months of enrolling. If yo… - Faster unemployment during short layoffs, emergencies: benefit, medium. If your employer gives you a definite recall date, you can get benefits for up to six weeks near that date. You must stay able and available and keep contact; more than six weeks needs Department approval. During a declared state of emergency, people in temporary quarantine or laid off by a tempora… - Fairer unemployment checks, appeals, and reemployment: mixed, medium. If you fail the normal wage test, the Department recalculates using the last four completed quarters and gathers missing wage data. Wages used to qualify this way cannot be reused, and past payments are not overpayments unless you knowingly lied. Benefits cannot be denied for alien status unless th… - Tougher fraud penalties, fairer repayment rules: mixed, medium. Fraud penalties are tougher: 50% of the improper amount for a first offense, 75% for a second, and 100% for a third. A first or second offense also blocks benefits for at least six months and up to one year; a third brings a longer disqualification. Using stolen identities is treated as a third off… - New unemployment reporting for leased workers: mixed, medium. Through December 31, 2025, employee‑leasing companies report and pay unemployment under their own account and rate. Starting January 1, 2026, they must file and pay under each client’s state employer ID and that client’s rate. Leasing firms must keep separate records and quarterly wage reports for… - Some disability payments not counted as wages: mixed, low. Payments for sickness or accident disability, or related medical costs, that are made more than six months after you last worked for an employer are not counted as wages for unemployment law. This only applies when the payment is from the employer or a third party. It may lower the wages counted fo… - Old unemployment law sections repealed: mixed, low. The law repeals former unemployment sections 1192 and 1197 and removes paragraph B of section 1043(5). These repeals reorganize unemployment rules and cross‑references as part of adopting new eligibility section 1192‑A. - Tighter checks and cleanup at unemployment agency: mixed, low. Unemployment bureau staff who access federal tax information must have a federal background check no older than five years. The Commissioner continues to run the bureau and set operations, and some older rulemaking language is removed, including self‑employment assistance program rules. - Update to interstate unemployment reimbursements: mixed, low. The state reimburses another state, the Virgin Islands, or Canada for benefits only when wages moved there are less than the insured‑work amount in section 1192‑A(2)(F). This updates how interstate reimbursements are decided. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Marshall Archer (Democratic), House ## Actions (7) - 2025-06-10: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 235 - 2025-06-03: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-06-03: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-06-02: Report READ and ACCEPTED, in concurrence.READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (H-379) READ and ADOPTED, in concurrence.Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED BY Committee Amendment "A" (H-379), in concurrence.Ordered sent down forthwith. (Senate) - 2025-06-02: CONSENT CALENDAR - FIRST DAYUnder suspension of the rules CONSENT CALENDAR - SECOND DAY.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (H-379).Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-03-21: Carried over, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519. (House) - 2025-02-20: Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 2025.The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on LABOR pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. (House) ## Bill text - Amendment C-A (H-379), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0445&item=2&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0445&item=3&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0445&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment C-A (H-379), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0445&item=2&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0445&item=3&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0445&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD706-132 (as of 2026-10-17).