General EB Discussion - Ongoing

Since EB is transitioning over to EUC, I sort of assume that most people following this thread are also checking the ongoing discussion over in the EUC thread, but just in case, I'm re-posting this info I posted there a little earlier today:

Ok, this was just sent to me from Melody, this exact wording, a few more details on what's going on:

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The information on the website is correct. Here is some additional detail that may be helpful:

* If you exhausted your benefits for Tier II, were receiving Extended Benefits (EB) on or after the week ending November 7, or will exhaust Tier II or Tier III by the week ending December 26, you DO NOT have to file for the extension.

* Because of the volume of claims transitioning from Tier II and EB, we are processing claims in batches of 35,000 per day. Therefore, some claims are set up before others. We will process all of the claims by this weekend.

* Once we set up your extension, we will send you a determination notice in the mail.

* Customers can also try claiming weeks if they don’t want to wait for the determination notice; once they are set up, they should be able to claim weeks immediately.

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I told her that I don't think anyone on this forum is waiting for anything in the mail, lol! But I did ask for clarification of what was meant by "processing claims." What this means is that everyone's claim for EUC 3 will be SET UP and accessible by (presumably the end of) this weekend. Of course, you might be lucky and be in an earlier batch. As soon as your account is set up you should see an update and be able to claim weeks. (As mentioned earlier, I personally think if you see an updated account balance and yet still cannot claim weeks, you might want to call in to see why.)

Ok, I was able to file online today. My first date to claim is 12/29. So no check before Christmas. Or even this year! It does say the period begins Nov 8.

hsd wrote:Ok, I was able to file online today. My first date to claim is 12/29. So no check before Christmas. Or even this year! It does say the period begins Nov 8.

12/29 would be your next date to claim if you had claimed today. Check with a rep in the morning and find out why you were not able to claim today. If they enter the weeks manually for you tomorrow, you should get payment Friday, Monday the latest.

Right. Those computer-generated initial claim dates are not necessarily the only option if you are owed back weeks. My account always said my claim date would be Dec 22, but I was able to claim 3 weeks on the phone. Now it still says Dec 22 even though I'm still owed back weeks, so I have a call in to Melody to see if I can claim the rest of the back weeks (was supposed to be yesterday, Tuesday, but I'm waiting for her call back).

Got my first check DD today , Melody said that the 3 week check should be there on Friday..I am happy that I have gotten mine But trully feel bad for the ones still waiting..I have not yet recieved any notice in the mail so people without computer still cant even apply that stinks...

Anyone who would like to contribute, Jim Stratton, of the Orlando Sentinel, is writing a new article on the whoas and headaches many have dealt with concerning AWI. Last summers EB gave us countless problems and we all know. Please contact Jim with the info below if you would like to share your story, thanks!!

Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
407-420-5379 (office)
jstratton@orlandosentinel.com

I spoke with Lee Koromvokis, PBS producer, today about their upcoming show on FL AWI and the current problems. From her research, Lee told me mine ' is a textbook case' of the problems people are experiencing with claiming benefits.' As my issues have recently been corrected ( for now), PBS will not interview me for their upcoming show on Friday, April 2nd. They are interviewing people who currently continue having difficulties in receiving their benefits. Lee reports they are having a good response from people wanting to share their stories.

From WESH.com Noon Headlines 04/26/2010 (Bolding is mine)

Fla. Senate Approves Unemployment Extension
About 42,000 out-of-work Floridians whose unemployment benefits have lapsed may be eligible for five additional weeks of payments.

The Florida Senate passed a bill Monday to take advantage of the extension in federal funding for unemployment approved by Congress on April 15. The federal legislation extended temporary state benefits that expired Feb. 28.Unemployment in Florida hit a record high at 12.3 percent in March, well above the national unemployment average of 9.7 percent. About 1.1 million Floridians are without jobs.

The bill next goes to the House.

From AWI Hot Topics.

April 30, 2010
Florida Legislature Approves Unemployment Compensation Bill
On April 28, 2010, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1736, which authorizes the Agency for Workforce Innovation to resume paying Unemployment Compensation Extended Benefits (EB) through the week of June 5, 2010 to eligible individuals who have exhausted all other state and federal unemployment benefits. When the bill becomes law, the agency anticipates accepting applications and making payments within the same week. Applications will be accepted online through our Internet site or via paper applications, which the agency will mail to those we identify as potentially eligible. Please visit this page often, as we will post updates as soon as additional information on EB becomes available.

Eligible individuals may include:
•Those who previously received EB and still have EB entitlement could receive up to 20 weeks, which would include weeks previously paid.
•Those who have exhausted all regular and federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits or will exhaust all benefits prior to June 5, 2010 could receive up to 14 weeks of benefits, depending on the date they exhaust EUC benefits.
•The legislation does not provide for EB entitlement remaining on claims after June 5, 2010.

Apparently bill 1736 which was passed by the Legislature on 04/28 has fallen into a black hole in the Senate President's (Sen Jeff Atwater) office. According to an aide in the W Palm Beach office, this is not unusual. When reminded that people are starving, she replied, "I'm aware of the situation, but it is out of my control.
Neither Sen Atwater's aide or Sen Hill's aide (Cynthia) could give any estimate of when the bill will be submitted to Gov Crist to sign or veto. I think that as happened with the Federal extension bill which was left until the Senate returned from Spring recess, the perception is since the effective date is retroactive there is no urgency. I'm not sure how many of us are effected by this but I am having a difficult time persuading my stomach to be patient.
Amazingly, AWI seems to be ready. Does anyone have any suggestions for moving this bill from limbo to the Gov?

Great. This is becoming exceedingly disappointing.

Have 'em come to my house.

Here's a copy of the reply I received from the governor's office

Thank you for contacting Governor Charlie Crist.

Due to the volume of emails sent to the Governor, there may be a delay in responding to your email. Please know that the Governor's office is making every effort to respond to your inquiry.

In the meantime, you may wish to view our online information database, which provides information on current issues and frequently asked questions. You may visit this source by clicking on Get Answers.

To receive Governor Crist's weekly newsletter, "Notes from the Capitol", please visit http://www.flgov.com and click on "Subscribe to Notes from the Capitol". To receive regular e-mail updates from Governor Crist, visit http://www.flgov.com/issuesignupform.html .

Thank you again for taking the time to contact Governor Crist.

This made me realize that all our calls, emails & faxes serve no purpose. Our elected officials do what they want, when they want & just depend on the failure of the voting public's short term memory failure at election time.

Hey Guys!

I researched a lil earlier today in regards to what is going on with SB1736. I spoke with the Secretary of The Senate, whom by the way is the most nicest and informative people I've spoken with in a long time. She advised me that the bill is still with them and is currently going through the reconcilliation process. Once that has completed the officers will then sign it and forward it over to Governor Charlie Crist's office. She explained to me that obviously there is no way to determine how long a bill will take to get reconcilled and signed off on but what she did tell me was that SB 1736 has a relatively small amount of amendments and shouldn't take as long as other bills that have substantially more. We cannot hold her to anything but in a round about way I got the idea that this process will take about a week. From that point, again, it is sent over to Governor Crist's office. Once received, Governor Crist will have 15 days to sign the bill. If no action is taken by him then on the 15th day it become law automatically. She told me that it would be in my best interest to refrain from googling, speculation, ect. for information regarding SB 1736 or any bill for that matter. She provided me with the following website:

http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?Mode=Bills&SubMenu=1&BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&BillNum=1736&Year=2010&Chamber=Senate#Amendments

When the bill is pulled up you will see a paragraph regarding the bill... scroll down and you will begin to notice dates. The last date of action on SB 1736 was:

04/28/10 SENATE Ordered enrolled -SJ 00991

The Secretary advised me that within 15 minutes of the bill having been reconcilled and signed by the officers this site will be updated to reflect such. This will then tell us when the 15 days begins for Governor Crist to take action... or not. Hope this helps! I feel that this has given me a more concrete and legitamate site to follow the ongoings of SB 1736.

BTW: The number to the Secretary of The Senate that I dialed was: (850) 487-5270.

UEINFL wrote:Hey Guys!
She told me that it would be in my best interest to refrain from googling, speculation, ect. for information regarding SB 1736 or any bill for that matter.

No it would be in her and Crist's best interests.... The more we know, the better, since knowledge often makes people accountable.
Thanks for the update.

Charlie Tuna did the same thing last year with EB, he waited until the very end of the 15 days and signed the last minute. Keeping us in suspense.

surfer wrote:No it would be in her and Crist's best interests.... The more we know, the better, since knowledge often makes people accountable.
Thanks for the update.

Accountable?
Please.

We, THE PEOPLE, haven't held anybody accountable since John Wilkes Booth.

April 30, 2010
Florida Legislature Approves Unemployment Compensation Bill
On April 28, 2010, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1736, which authorizes the Agency for Workforce Innovation to resume paying Unemployment Compensation Extended Benefits (EB) through the week of June 5, 2010 to eligible individuals who have exhausted all other state and federal unemployment benefits. When the bill becomes law, the agency anticipates accepting applications and making payments within the same week. Applications will be accepted online through our Internet site or via paper applications, which the agency will mail to those we identify as potentially eligible. Please visit this page often, as we will post updates as soon as additional information on EB becomes available.

Eligible individuals may include:

* Those who previously received EB and still have EB entitlement could receive up to 20 weeks, which would include weeks previously paid.
* Those who have exhausted all regular and federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits or will exhaust all benefits prior to June 5, 2010 could receive up to 14 weeks of benefits, depending on the date they exhaust EUC benefits.
* The legislation does not provide for EB entitlement remaining on claims after June 5, 2010.

so does this mean we might get some extra weeks or no... IM confused

i think that question has been asked before..................and before............................

brb2007 wrote:April 30, 2010
Florida Legislature Approves Unemployment Compensation Bill
On April 28, 2010, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1736, which authorizes the Agency for Workforce Innovation to resume paying Unemployment Compensation Extended Benefits (EB) through the week of June 5, 2010 to eligible individuals who have exhausted all other state and federal unemployment benefits. When the bill becomes law, the agency anticipates accepting applications and making payments within the same week. Applications will be accepted online through our Internet site or via paper applications, which the agency will mail to those we identify as potentially eligible. Please visit this page often, as we will post updates as soon as additional information on EB becomes available.

Eligible individuals may include:

* Those who previously received EB and still have EB entitlement could receive up to 20 weeks, which would include weeks previously paid.
* Those who have exhausted all regular and federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits or will exhaust all benefits prior to June 5, 2010 could receive up to 14 weeks of benefits, depending on the date they exhaust EUC benefits.
* The legislation does not provide for EB entitlement remaining on claims after June 5, 2010.

so does this mean we might get some extra weeks or no... IM confused

Yes, but I understand that the bill still hasn't made it to Governor Crists desk. It has been stuck in something called reconciliation. The gossip is that the bill should get to Crists desk next week, and he has two weeks to sign it. So by months end we should see something on our end. It will be retroactive back to late February and then forward to June 2. Hence the fourteen weeks maximum spoken of. That's assuming you exhausted EUC before late February. If not, it is retro back to the date you exhausted EUC, still with the cutoff date of June2. For instance, since I exhausted EUC Tier4 on April24, that's when my EB starts in, and of course stops on June2, which will give me about five weeks of benefits.

Crist has SB 1736 on his desk as of 05/11/10

.Gov.Crist got the SB 1736 last night,but he has 15days to sign the bill. We have already waited over 15days for this bill to get signed. It is more important than ever to call 850-488-7146 to get him to expedite the signing of this bill. Floridians need this money asap!!

I recd letter from B Dickey in response to my inquiry,,,, Wishing all luck, Should we post the letter recd from email?

I still have not received a reply to the email I sent to the governor's office about 1736 which they acknowledged receiving 05/04. Like UIO said, he will probably wait until the 15th day to sign it or just let the time expire; then it becomes law automatically.

when the gov signs this bill 1736 is it gonna help any of the ones that are consider the 99 ers?

pyrox wrote:when the gov signs this bill 1736 is it gonna help any of the ones that are consider the 99 ers?

The only people this bill will help are those that were shorted weeks or never received EB. If I'm wrong on that,i'm sure someone will let us both know. I haven't been following this bill much because I thought I had used all of my EB. I wrote AWI yesterday,on a whim,and found out I'm a 97'er.....they still owe me two weeks of EB. With that said,if you have any doubt about whether you collected all of your EB or not you can contact Ms. Dixon via e-mail and she will call you back. She will need your name,phone number and last 4 of your SS#.

glondetra.dixon@flaawi.com

Gonzo, I called awi as well and got two different people yesterday and this morning, one being Miss Dixon. From my calculations, I should have not quite 2 weeks ( a few short of $540) left in EB account, which got lost in the tier transitioning fiasco. Both of these AWI reps said i have much more, $1044 or $1350 depending on who ya believe! I did the math again and they must be counting tier 4 amounts.
Don't get me wrong, I desperately, really really need money, but this is too much money! (never thought i'd be saying that! )