By: Nicholas Sohr

The House Economic Matters Committee approved the governor’s much amended unemployment insurance bill with a 17-5 vote, priming it for a trip to the House floor and moving it one step closer to passage.

The bill, SB 107, was the subject of nearly nonstop negotiations through the first half of the legislative session as lawmakers, governor’s representatives, business groups and labor interests crafted the long-awaited compromise.

It would increase unemployment benefits in some areas and decrease them in others to qualify the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund for $126.8 million from the federal government. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation first tapped a federal line of credit in February to keep the trust fund afloat.

The legislation was the subject of little debate Tuesday and the vote fell largely along party lines.

“I think we’re adding more burdens to an already overburdened fund,” said Del. Warren E. Miller, R-Howard.

Here’s our most recent story on the Senate vote, and our earlier story on the compromise.