MODIFICATION TO ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

SEC. 102. MODIFICATION TO ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) Individual Not Ineligible by Reason of Subsequent Entitlement to Regular Benefits.—Section 101 of such Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(f) Certain Rights to Regular Compensation Disregarded.—If an individual exhausted his rights to regular compensation for any benefit year, such individual’s eligibility to receive emergency unemployment compensation under this Act in respect of such benefit year shall be determined without regard to any rights to regular compensation for a subsequent benefit year if such individual does not file a claim for regular compensation for such subsequent benefit year.” (b) Effective Date.— (1) In general.—The amendment made by this section shall apply to weeks of unemployment beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) Transition rules.— (A) Waiver of recovery of certain overpayments.—On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, no repayment of any emergency unemployment compensation shall be required under section 105 of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–164, as amended) if the individual would have been entitled to receive such compensation had the amendment made 106 STAT. 293by subsection (a) applied to all weeks beginning on or before the date of the enactment of this Act. (B) Waiver of rights to certain regular benefits.—If— (i) before the date of the enactment of this Act, an individual exhausted his rights to regular compensation for any benefit year, and (ii) after such exhaustion, such individual was not eligible to receive emergency unemployment compensation by reason of being entitled to regular compensation for a subsequent benefit year, such individual may elect to defer his rights to regular compensation for such subsequent benefit year with respect to weeks beginning after such date of enactment until such individual has exhausted his rights to emergency unemployment compensation in respect of the benefit year referred to in clause (i), and such individual shall be entitled to receive emergency unemployment compensation for such weeks in the same manner as if he had not been entitled to the regular compensation to which the election applies.