The rate of unemployment in the State of Florida has risen dramatically since January 2007. Between January and May 2007, 245,653 individuals filed claims for unemployment benefits. During the same period in 2008, 346,202 individuals filed claims, representing an increase of 41%. Under Florida law, a claimant may receive up to 26 weeks of unemployment compensation within a one year period. Unfortunately, as many as 488,650 recipients of unemployment compensation have exhausted their regular benefits and may be eligible for additional benefits under recently enacted federal legislation. These figures are representative of the situation faced by other states nationwide. To address this situation and for other purposes, Congress passed a Supplemental Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-252). Title IV of the Act creates the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which authorizes states that enter into agreements with the United States Department of Labor to pay up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits to recipients of unemployment compensation who have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under state law. Florida has entered into such an agreement with the United States Department of Labor. In order to determine which individuals are eligible for benefits and provide compensation to them as quickly as possible, it is necessary that the use of the application forms incorporated by reference into this emergency rule be implemented immediately, without the delay attendant with regular rulemaking procedures. The Agency will immediately begin the regular rulemaking process for incorporating these forms and procedures into its current claims rules, found in Chapter 60BB-3, Florida Administrative Code.