Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §1197, sub-§4, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 710, §2, is amended to read:

B. A self-employment assistance allowance is payable to an individual at the same interval, on the same terms and subject to the same conditions as regular benefits except that:

(1) The requirements of section 1192, subsection 3 relating to availability for work and active search for work are not applicable to the individual;

(2) The requirements of section 1193, subsection 3 relating to refusal to accept work are not applicable to the individual;

(3) The requirements of section 1191, subsection 3 and section 1043, subsection 17 relating to self-employment income are not applicable to the individual;

(4) An individual is considered unemployed for the purposes of section 1192; and

(5) An individual who fails to participate in self- employment assistance activities or who fails to actively engage on a full-time basis in activities, which may include training, related to establishing a business and becoming self-employed is denied benefits for the week the failure occurs.; and

(6)__The self-employment assistance allowance may not be reduced by per diem compensation paid to an individual for work related to establishing a business and performance of self-employment assistance activities.

SUMMARY

This bill amends the Maine Enterprise Option program to allow an individual to receive per diem compensation for work related to establishing a business and performance of self-employment assistance activities without experiencing a reduction in the self-employment assistance allowance.