The House yesterday moved a bill to the governor that, among other things, will ensure that more than 20,000 Ohioans continue to get extended unemployment benefits.

The House voted 82-8 to give final concurrence on House Bill 337, a bill that originally dealt with commercial drivers’ licenses but picked up an amendment in the Senate to allow the state to take advantage of a more favorable federal formula used to determine eligibility for federal aid.

Jobless Ohioans can get up to 99 weeks of unemployment -- 26 weeks of regular state benefits, 53 weeks of federal benefits that workers in all states can get, and the additional 20 weeks for those in states hit hardest by the recession.

To qualify for the latter, a state's unemployment rate must be 10 percent higher than it was two years earlier. As jobless rates have leveled off, federal regulators allowed states to go back three years to make it easier to maintain eligibility. However, the longer look-back period must be approved by state lawmakers.