Unemployment compensation fund, established

288.290. Unemployment compensation fund, established — administration, deposit of funds — purposes — erroneous collection of interest or penalties. — 1. There is hereby established as a special fund, separate and apart from all public moneys or funds of this state, an "Unemployment Compensation Fund", which shall be administered by the division exclusively for the purposes of this law. This fund shall consist of:

(1) All contributions and payments in lieu of contributions collected under this law;

(2) Interest earned upon any moneys in the fund;

(3) Any property or securities acquired through the use of moneys belonging to the fund;

(4) All earnings of such property or securities;

(5) All voluntary contributions permitted under the law; and

(6) All funds set aside or appropriated by the Congress of the United States or any federal agency, to be deposited to the fund. All moneys in the funds shall be mingled and undivided, except that all money credited to this state's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund pursuant to Section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, and which has been appropriated for expenses of administration, shall be used only for the purposes set out in subsection 5 of this section and shall not be included in the cash balance in the unemployment compensation fund for the purposes of sections 288.100 and 288.113 to 288.126.

2. The director shall designate a treasurer and custodian of the fund and he or she shall administer the fund and shall issue his or her warrants upon it in accordance with such regulations as the director shall prescribe. He or she shall maintain within the fund three separate accounts:

(1) A clearing account;

(2) An unemployment trust fund account; and

(3) A benefit account. ­­­

3. All moneys payable to the fund, upon their receipt by the division, shall immediately be deposited in the clearing account. Refunds of contributions or payments made necessary under the provisions of sections 288.140 and 288.340 may be paid from the clearing account or the benefit account. After clearance, all moneys in the clearing account shall be immediately deposited with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America to the credit of the account of this state in the Unemployment Trust Fund, established and maintained pursuant to Section 904 of the Social Security Act, as amended, any provisions of law in this state relating to the deposit, administration, release, or disbursement of state moneys in the possession or custody of the state treasurer to the contrary notwithstanding. The benefit account shall consist of all moneys requisitioned from the Missouri account in the federal Unemployment Trust Fund. Except as otherwise provided, moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts may be deposited in any bank or public depositary in which general funds of the state may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance charge or premium shall be paid out of the fund. Moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts shall not be commingled with other state funds but shall be maintained in separate accounts on the books of the depositary bank. All funds required by this law to be deposited in any state depositary shall be secured by such depositary to the same extent and in the same manner as is or may hereafter be required by section 30.270 and all the amendments thereto; provided, that the division shall do those acts directed to be done by the governor, attorney general and state treasurer, or any of them, under section 30.270, which are not inconsistent with the other provisions of this law. Collateral pledged for this purpose shall be kept separate and distinct from any collateral pledged to secure other funds of the state, or, if combined, shall be first used to satisfy and make whole the accounts herein established. The treasurer shall give a separate bond conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties as custodian of the fund in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars and in the form prescribed by law or approved by the attorney general. Premiums for such bonds shall be paid from the administration fund. All sums recovered for losses sustained by the fund shall be deposited therein.

4. Moneys shall be requisitioned from the Missouri account in the federal Unemployment Trust Fund solely for the payment of benefits or for refunds of contributions or payments in lieu of contributions in accordance with regulations prescribed by the director, except that money credited to this state's account pursuant to Section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, shall be used exclusively as provided in subsection 5 of this section. The director shall from time to time requisition from the federal Unemployment Trust Fund such amounts, not exceeding the amounts standing to the Missouri account therein, as he or she deems necessary for the payment of benefits and refunds for a reasonable future period. Upon its receipt the treasurer shall deposit such money in the benefit account and shall issue his or her warrants for the payment of benefits solely from such benefit account. Expenditures of such moneys in the benefit account and refunds from the clearing account shall not be subject to any provisions of law requiring specific appropriations or other formal release by state officers of moneys belonging to this state in their custody. All warrants issued by the treasurer for the payment of benefits and refunds shall bear the signature of the treasurer and the countersignature of the director or other duly authorized division representative. Any balance of moneys requisitioned from the federal Unemployment Trust Fund which remains unclaimed or unpaid in the benefit account after the expiration of the period for which such sums were requisitioned shall either be deducted from estimates for, and may be utilized for the payment of, benefits during succeeding periods, or, in the discretion of the director, shall be redeposited with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America to the credit of the Missouri account in the federal Unemployment Trust Fund as provided in subsection 3 of this section.

5. (1) Money credited to the account of this state in the Unemployment Trust Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America pursuant to Section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, may be requisitioned and used for the payment of expenses incurred for the administration of this law pursuant to a specific appropriation by the legislature, provided that the expenses are incurred and the money is requisitioned as needed after the enactment of an appropriation law which:

(a) Specifies the purpose for which such money is appropriated and the amounts appropriated therefor;

(b) Limits the period within which such money may be obligated to a period ending not more than two years after the date of the enactment of the appropriation law; and

(c) Limits the amount which may be obligated during a twelve-month period beginning on July first and ending on the next June thirtieth to an amount which does not exceed the amount by which the aggregate of the amount transferred to the account of this state in the Unemployment Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of Section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, exceeds the aggregate of the amounts used by this state pursuant to this subsection and charged against the amounts transferred to the account of this state in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

(2) The use of the money referred to in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be accounted for in accordance with standards established by the Secretary of Labor.

(3) For purposes of subdivision (1) of this subsection, amounts used by this state for administration shall be chargeable against transferred amounts at the exact time the obligation is entered into.

(4) Money credited to the account of this state pursuant to Section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, may not be withdrawn or used except for the payment of benefits and for the payment of expenses for the administration of this law and of public employment offices pursuant to this subsection.

(5) Money appropriated as provided under subdivision (1) of this subsection for the payment of expenses of administration shall be requisitioned as needed for the payment of obligations incurred under such appropriation and, upon requisition, shall be deposited in the unemployment compensation administration fund from which such payments shall be made. Money so deposited shall, until expended, remain a part of the unemployment compensation fund and, if it will not be expended, shall be returned promptly to the account of this state in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

(6) Money credited to the account of the state in the federal Unemployment Trust Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America pursuant to Title 42, Section 903 of the Social Security Act with respect to the federal fiscal years 1999, 2000 and 2001, shall be used solely for the administration of the unemployment compensation program.

6. The provisions of subsections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this section, to the extent that they relate to the federal Unemployment Trust Fund, shall be operative only so long as such federal Unemployment Trust Fund continues to exist and so long as the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America continues to maintain a separate book account of all funds deposited therein by contributions from employers of this state for benefit purposes, and by money credited pursuant to Section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, together with a proportionate share of the earnings apportioned to the Missouri account of such federal Unemployment Trust Fund, from which no other state is permitted to make or authorize withdrawals. If and when such Unemployment Trust Fund ceases to exist, or such separate book account is no longer maintained, all moneys, properties, or securities therein belonging to the unemployment compensation fund of this state shall be transferred to the treasurer of the unemployment compensation fund, who shall hold, invest, transfer, sell, deposit, and release such moneys, properties or securities in a manner approved by the director in accordance with the provisions of this law; provided, that such moneys shall be invested in the following readily marketable classes of securities: bonds or other interest-bearing obligations of the United States of America, or securities on which the payment of principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States of America, and bonds or other interest-bearing obligations of the state of Missouri; and provided, further, that such investments shall at all times be so made that all the assets of the fund shall always be readily convertible into cash when needed for the payment of benefits. The treasurer shall dispose of securities or other properties belonging to the unemployment compensation fund only under the direction of the director.

7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this law, any interest or penalties found to have been erroneously collected and which is ordered to be refunded shall, if paid into the unemployment compensation fund, be refunded out of the unemployment compensation fund and, if paid into the special employment security fund, shall be refunded out of the special employment security fund; except that, in the event any interest and penalties paid into the unemployment compensation fund shall be transferred to the special employment security fund, the refund of any such interest and penalties shall be made from the special employment security fund.