Except as otherwise provided, moneys money in the clearing, combined unemployment insurance contributions and income tax withholding and benefit accounts may be deposited by the Treasurer of State, under the direction of the commissioner, in any bank or public depository in which general funds of the State may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance charge or premium shall may be paid out of the fund.

The Governor has been and is hereby authorized to apply for advances to the account of this State in the Unemployment Trust Fund in accordance with the provisions of Title XII of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § United States Code, Section 1321, as amended, or under any other Act of Congress extending such authority, in order to secure to this State and its citizens the advantages available under the provisions of Title XII of the Social Security Act.

SUMMARY

This bill would help to ensure the more timely deposit of unemployment insurance contributions into the Unemployment Trust Fund, as required by the Federal Deposit Standard. Currently the interagency cooperation that requires the combined payment for unemployment insurance contributions and income tax withholding is deposited into a combined unemployment insurance contributions and income tax withholding account, and the unemployment insurance contributions portion is subsequently deposited into the clearing account as is now required under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1161. The reconciliation and clearance process in 2 accounts is not efficient cash management and is an unnecessary duplication. It delays the timely deposit of contributions into the Unemployment Trust Fund, resulting in a loss of interest, and creates conditions that impede meeting the Federal Deposit Standard.