Sponsors (7)
Amends the tax code to broaden and clarify State SEA program rules, expand approved entrepreneurial activities, require weekly participant certification, and require Labor Department regulations and guidance.
The bill expands and standardizes reemployment supports for more unemployed Americans and gives states flexibility to implement changes sooner, but it raises the risk of higher UI-related costs, greater administrative burdens, and fiscal uncertainty for states and taxpayers.
Unemployed workers will be eligible for a broader set of reemployment services — including entrepreneurial training and business counseling — increasing opportunities to start businesses and return to work.
State workforce agencies will receive model activity lists and verification best practices from the Secretary of Labor and may opt to adopt changes earlier than the two-year effective date, making administration more consistent across states and enabling faster implementation where desired.
Employers, taxpayers, and state unemployment trust funds could face higher costs because removing the 'likely to exhaust' eligibility threshold expands who can participate in UI-related activities.
State workforce agencies and unemployed participants will face higher administrative and compliance burdens (e.g., weekly certifications, new procedural rules), and added federal notice-and-comment/OMB approval steps could delay or complicate rollout.
Unclear revisions to numerical participant limits create uncertainty about program scale and fiscal impacts, complicating budgeting and oversight for states and potentially producing unforeseen costs for taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes it easier for unemployed workers to participate in State Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) programs by loosening eligibility rules and clarifying what activities count as SEA. The bill broadens approved SEA activities to include entrepreneurial training, business counseling, technical assistance, or work under an approved business plan and market feasibility study, requires weekly participant certification to a State agency, directs the Labor Secretary to issue regulations and provide model activity lists and verification best practices, and delays effectiveness for two years while allowing States to adopt changes earlier.
Official title: New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act
Introduced December 4, 2025 by Mike Carey · Last progress April 28, 2026