bill raising the Texas minimum wage to $19

The text as introduced · 826 words

By: Rodríguez Ramos
H.B. No. 5368

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the minimum wage.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 62.051, Labor Code, is amended to read as

follows:

Sec. 62.051. MINIMUM WAGE. (a) Except as otherwise

provided by this section [ Section 62.057 ], an employer shall pay to

each employee not less than $19 an hour.

(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), and except as provided

by Subsection (c), an employer shall pay to each employee not less

than the greater of:

(1) the minimum wage established under Subsection (a);

or

(2) the amount set as the federal minimum wage under

Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206).

(c) Beginning on October 1, 2026, an employer shall pay to

an employee not less than the minimum wage established under

Subsection (d).

(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), on June 1, 2026,

and every year thereafter, the commission shall adjust the minimum

wage established under Subsection (b) for inflation. The adjusted

minimum wage rate shall be computed to the nearest cent using the

consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), as computed

by the United States Department of Labor for the preceding 12

months, or an analogous index adopted by the commission by rule.

The commission by rule shall:

(1) describe the process used in computing inflation

rates and the procedure for determining the level of inflation used

in the commission's computations; and

(2) based on the computations under Subdivision (1),

set the state minimum wage for the subsequent calendar year.

(e) The commission may not adjust the minimum wage under

Subsection (d) to an amount that is less than the minimum wage for

the preceding calendar year.

(f) This section does not apply to compensation paid to a

person under Section 62.057 or to a tipped employee under Section

62.052.

SECTION 2. Section 62.052, Labor Code, is amended to read as

follows:

Sec. 62.052. TIPPED EMPLOYEES. (a) [ In determining the

wage of a tipped employee, the amount paid the employee by the

employer is the amount described as paid to a tipped employee under

Section 3(m), Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section

203(m)).

[ (b) ] In this section, "tipped employee" means an employee

engaged in an occupation in which the employee customarily and

regularly receives more than $20 a month in tips.

(b) An employer shall pay to each tipped employee the

federal minimum wage under Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of

1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206(a)(1)). The amount paid to an employee

may not be reduced by a tip credit against the minimum wage.

(c) This section may not be construed to allow an employer

to keep any portion of a tipped employee's tips.

SECTION 3. Section 497.004(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) The board shall [ may ] develop by rule and the department

shall [ may ] administer an incentive pay scale for work program

participants consistent with rules adopted by the board under

Subchapter C. The board shall set pay levels at a minimum of the

federal minimum wage under Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of

1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206(a)(1)). Prison industries may be

financed through contributions donated for this purpose by private

businesses contracting with the department. The department shall

apportion pay earned by a work program participant in the same

manner as is required by rules adopted by the board under Section

497.0581.

SECTION 4. Section 497.099(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The board shall [ may ] develop by rule and the department

shall [ may ] administer an incentive pay scale program for inmates

required to work in agricultural, industrial, or other work

programs. In developing the program, the board shall set pay levels

not to unjustly reward inmates, but rather to instruct inmates on

the virtues of diligent participation in the workplace , provided

that the board shall set pay levels at a minimum of the federal

minimum wage under Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29

U.S.C. Section 206(a)(1)) . The department shall deposit an amount

earned by an inmate under this subsection into the inmate's trust

fund and may deduct not more than 80 percent of the amount deposited

under this subsection for payment of restitution and dependent care

owed by the inmate. [ This subsection does not apply to the

compensation of an inmate participating in a Texas Correctional

Industries program under Subchapter A or an inmate participating in

a private sector prison industries program under Subchapter C. ]

SECTION 5. Section 62.151, Labor Code, is repealed.

SECTION 6. Not later than December 1, 2025, the Texas Board

of Criminal Justice shall adopt the rules required by Sections

497.004(a) and 497.099(b), Government Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.