A bill that would increase a requirement to qualify for unemployment compensation in Alabama has moved closer to becoming law.

House Bill 29 by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, would require a person seeking unemployment compensation to contact at least five prospective employers each week.

That’s up from the current requirement to contact at least three prospective employers a week, which was established in a law passed in 2022.

The increased requirement to five would not apply to people in counties with populations of less than 20,000.

Twenty-two of Alabama’s 67 counties had populations below 20,000 as of the 2020 census.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, spoke for the bill at a public hearing held today by the Senate’s County and Municipal Government Committee.

Orr said several other states have already increased their required job contacts to five, which he said is the most allowed by the federal government.

Orr said the requirement is reasonable and noted that there are 127,000 open jobs in the state.

“What are you doing for 40 hours a week?” Orr said. “The current requirement is only three searches that you have to do, or putting in applications. You can do that electronically. You don’t have to physically go to the place.

“What’s the harm in providing a fourth and fifth application into finding a job? Because we can’t sustain people staying on unemployment forever.“

Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, said some people who are unemployed face challenges such as a shortage of public transportation in Alabama and the high cost of child care.

“You may live at one end of the county but the job may be at the other end,” Coleman-Madison said.

David Stout, a lobbyist for Alabama Arise, which advocates for policies to help low-income families, spoke in opposition to the bill.

“I understand that people think if you just pass another more stringent bill, you’re going to help people get a job. That’s not so,” Stout said.

Stout said requirements for drawing unemployment are already strict.

Unemployment claims are handled by the Department of Workforce, previously called the Alabama Department of Labor.

Those who qualify can receive a maximum of $275 per week for a period of as much as 14 weeks to 20 weeks.

To be eligible, you must be able and available for work and be out of work due to no fault of your own.

Stout called HB29 a “bad bill.”

“It’s not going to help people who are looking for work,” Stout said.

“And you’re going to force more people off of those rolls that are presently drawing unemployment compensation.”

The committee approved the bill. That puts it in position for final passage by the Senate. It has already passed the House.