Panel sets first meeting on jobless system

A new committee formed to provide oversight of Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund is set to hold its first meeting tomorrow.

The Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee was formed as part of a state law passed this year that made changes
to the system and raised taxes on employers in hopes of eventually fixing the bankrupt insurance fund. The law was one of
the most hotly debated topics during the most recent General Assembly.

The fund has borrowed about $1 billion from
the federal government this year to pay out unemployment benefits and keep the fund solvent. The state Department of Workforce
Development said recently that the amount borrowed by the end of the year likely will be $1.7 billion. It’s not expected to
be out of borrowing position in the next five years.