Sen. Rodney Ellis To File Minimum Wage Bill

State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) has filed Senate Bill 95, which will raise the minimum wage in Texas to $7.15 per hour in two steps and allow for future increases based on inflation.

SB 95 would add $1.00 per hour to the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour on September 1 of this year, and a second $1.00 per hour one year later. After that, the minimum wage would increase based on ties to inflation.

“The minimum wage is a poverty wage, and that’s unacceptable,” Senator Ellis said.

Twenty-eight states have taken the initiative to raise their hourly wage minimums, including all six that considered the issue in the Nov. 7 election.

“A decent minimum wage increase would benefit Texas in many ways.  It would bring self-sufficiency to some families who work multiple jobs and allow them to reduce or eliminate reliance on public benefits.  It would spread the buying power in our economy.  Most importantly, it would bring a greater measure of dignity to all who contribute to our state’s productivity,” Senator Ellis said.

“What this bill will clearly not do is cost the state jobs,” Senator Ellis said.  “The experience of states that have raised the minimum wage is that a modest minimum wage increase at the level we are discussing does not harm the job market.  But a minimum wage increase clearly helps a large number of workers and their families make ends meet and improve their lives.”

The bill has already been endorsed by the President of the Texas AFL-CIO.

As of last month, approximately 523,000 Texas workers, or roughly 5 percent of the state’s workforce, earned less than $6.15 per hour.

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