MADISON - Republicans are hoping to cut the amount of time unemployed Wisconsinites can receive unemployment benefits when the economy is good, with a bill identical to one introduced last year that failed to gain a signature from Gov. Tony Evers.

The bill, which is being circulated for co-sponsorships, would directly link how long a person can receive benefits to the state's unemployment rate.

Currently, unemployed Wisconsinites can receive regular benefits for up to 26 weeks. That would drop to as little as 14 weeks under the legislation, because the state's unemployment rate of 2.7% is at a historic low. The number of weeks benefits that would be available would rise along with the unemployment rate, topping out at 26 weeks when the unemployment rate is at 9% or higher.

More: Wisconsin voters back expanding work requirements for welfare benefits. Here's why the vote is mostly symbolic

Last year, the Assembly and Senate passed an identical bill along party lines, but Evers vetoed it.

"We're bringing this bill back because we have record low unemployment rates, and more jobs available in every sector, people are hiring around every corner," said Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Green Lake. "In my mind, we need to do everything we can to get people off the sidelines."

In addition to the bill aimed at changing the amount of time claimants can access benefits, a number of other bills were circulated among lawmakers for co-sponsorship, aimed at changing other parts of the unemployment insurance program or directing the Department of Workforce Development to change their handling of work searches.

The bills were introduced the day after Wisconsinites overwhelmingly said they believe unemployed, able-bodied adults should be required to search for work while receiving benefits in a symbolic referendum Tuesday. Nearly 80% of voters voted yes on the question, which seemingly influenced a number of the bills introduced Wednesday.

Here's what you should know about the other bills.

More: Wisconsin, other states failed to meet federal rules for clearing unemployment appeals, a new report says

Other bills aim to address concerns stemming from the pandemic

The first bill would require drug testing, rename the unemployment insurance program to the Division of Reemployment Assistance, get claimants access to employment services earlier in the claim process, require the posting of a resume within seven days, provide customized job offers based on submitted resumes, require applications to jobs that could result in a hire and require counseling session about the next steps of engaging in the labor market.

More: Black Wisconsinites were half as likely as white applicants to get pandemic unemployment payments, report finds

The other bill would ensure benefits only go to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are looking for work by updating misconduct statutes to include the destruction of records, unapproved use of a company credit card and violations of companies' attendance and social media policies, requiring audits of 50% of work searches and subjecting enhanced benefits to oversight by the Legislature.

Another bill would make changes based on the challenges Wisconsin faced with unemployment during the first year of the COVID pandemic.

A huge wave of unemployment claims in 2020 overwhelmed Wisconsin's outdated unemployment system in 2020, resulting in a backlog that stretched on for months, resulting in some claimants missing out on much-needed payments.

In order to avoid those issues, another bill introduced Wednesday would implement a number of changes at the department to enable a more efficient response. It would extend call center hours during times of high need, give the Department of Administration the ability to transfer state employees to the DWD to meet increased workloads, provide online resources to employers about unemployment programs, building and requiring weekly eligibility crosschecks using various databases, and improving identity checks for recipients.

The final bill circulated Wednesday would punish unemployment recipients for declining or "ghosting" interviews or job offers by making the individual ineligible for benefits for the week.

Once the bills are circulated and have cosponsors signed on, they will be given bill numbers and introduced and voted on in committee meetings.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Republican bill seeks to curtail Wisconsin unemployment benefits