House VotesTo Raise Arizona's Low Unemployment Pay

The Arizona House has voted to raise Arizona’s super-low $240 maximum weekly unemployment benefit to $300 at the start of 2022 and impose a small increase in employer insurance premiums to pay for the increase.

The proposal from Republican Rep. David Cook passed on a 50-9 vote Wednesday. The Senate is considering a different proposal backed by GOP President Sen. Karen Fann. Fann’s proposal appears to have bipartisan support in the Senate and increases the weekly nemployment pay to $320 by midsummer of this year. But it also cuts the number of weeks a person is eligible to 20 from 26 when the state unemployment rate is below 6%.