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Labor officials back bill to clarify when unemployment‑insurance data can be shared
Summary
Deputy Secretary Jason Perkins Cohen and policy staff told the committee HB 242 would provide a clear statutory framework for sharing unemployment‑insurance data among state and local agencies for legitimate programs while adding penalties and safeguards against misuse.
Deputy Secretary Jason Perkins Cohen and the Department of Labor’s policy director of the unemployment insurance system described HB 242 as an effort to make data‑sharing between state and local agencies more efficient and consistent with federal rules. They said the current patchwork of law makes responsible sharing harder than it needs to be and cited past emergency efforts — for example after the Key Bridge collapse — where clearer authority would have eased program setup.
Perkins Cohen said the bill clarifies what information is confidential, when it may be shared and establishes penalties for misuse by department employees and external parties. He told the committee the bill balances public‑interest uses of UI data with necessary privacy safeguards.
Committee members asked whether the changes could be achieved by regulation; department staff answered that statutory language is required to provide the scope and penalties HB 242 proposes.
The hearing closed after technical questions; no vote was recorded on the bill in committee.
