HBA-JLV, SEP H.B. 303 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 303 By: Burnam Economic Development 2/23/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. Income from a full-time job at this wage is not always sufficient to cover the costs of food, clothing, and shelter. As a result, the working-poor may have to rely on public assistance programs to cover living expenses. House Bill 303 creates a living wage for private employees through a formula based on the fair market cost of housing. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 303 amends the Labor Code to require an employer to pay to each employee the greater hourly wage of either the federal minimum hourly wage or the average weekly salary divided by 40. The average weekly salary is calculated as the fair market rent of the fair market rent area in which the employer is located divided by 0.3 and divided again by 4.3. The bill defines "fair market rent" as a fair market rent as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a one bedroom apartment, and defines "fair market rent area" as the metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county as determined by HUD in which a fair market rent applies. H.B. 303 repeals provisions that authorize the employment of a person at a wage less than the applicable minimum wage if the person is over the age of 65, or if the person's earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.