Sec. 5. 26 MRSA §1221, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:

4-A. Employer's experience classifications after January 1, 2000.__For rate years commencing on and after January 1, 2000, the commissioner shall compute annually contribution rates for each employer based on the employer's own experience rating record and shall designate a schedule and planned yield.

A.__The standard rate of contributions is 5.4%. A contributing employer's rate may not be varied from the standard rate, unless the employer's experience rating record has been chargeable with benefits throughout the 24- consecutive-calendar-month period ending on the computation date applicable to such a year. A contributing employer newly subject to this chapter shall pay contributions at a rate equal to the predetermined yield until the employer's experience rating record has been chargeable with benefits throughout the 24-consecutive-calendar-month period ending on the computation date applicable to such a year. For rate years thereafter, the employer's contribution rate is determined in accordance with this subsection and subsection 3.

B.__Subject to paragraph A, an employer's contribution rate for the 12-month period commencing January 1st of each year is based on the employer's experience rating record and determined from the employer's reserve ratio. The employer's reserve ratio is the percent obtained by dividing the amount, if any, by which the employer's contributions credited from the time the employer first or most recently became an employer, whichever date is later, and up to and including June 30th of the preceding year, including any part of the employer's contributions due for that year paid on or before July 31st of that year, exceed the employer's benefits charged during the same period, by the employer's average annual payroll for the 36-consecutive-month period ending June 30th of the preceding year. The employer's