Minimum wage bills hit the legislature

The current minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 an hour (except for tipped workers, of course, who earn may earn as little as $2.13 an hour). Today group of legislators and advocates aim to bring the issue to the forefront in a session that has mostly been dominated by budget woes, school finance and “sanctuary cities.” At 9:30 a.m., the authors of a host of different minimum wage bills gathered at the Capitol, along with workers’ groups, to explain their different proposals that would change the lives of many low-wage workers in the state. Those ideas include provisions raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour (house bills 285, 475 and 992 and House Joint Resolution 57), raising it to $10.10 per hour (house bills 924, 937 and HJR 56), restoring cities’ ability to raise the rate (house bills 840 and 954) and ending the practice of employers taking a portion of their employees tips (HB 326).