89R3809 AND-D     By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 1721       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to establishing a base wage for personal attendants under   the community living assistance and support services (CLASS) waiver   program.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Chapter 546, Government Code, as effective April   1, 2025, is amended by adding Subchapter J-1 to read as follows:   SUBCHAPTER J-1.  COMMUNITY LIVING ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES   (CLASS) WAIVER PROGRAM          Sec. 546.0473.  BASE WAGE FOR PERSONAL ATTENDANTS.  (a)   Notwithstanding Section 62.051 or 62.151, Labor Code, or any other   law, a personal attendant providing personal assistance services to   a recipient under the community living assistance and support   services (CLASS) waiver program must be paid a base wage:                (1)  for the state fiscal biennium beginning September   1, 2025, equal to an amount that is not less than the greater of:                      (A)  $15 an hour; or                      (B)  the federal minimum wage under Section 6,   Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206); and                (2)  for each subsequent state fiscal biennium, equal   to the greater of:                      (A)  the adjusted base wage determined in   accordance with Subsection (b); or                      (B)  the federal minimum wage under Section 6,   Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206).          (b)  On August 1 of each odd-numbered year, the commission   shall determine the adjusted base wage applicable under Subsection   (a)(2)(A) for the next state fiscal biennium by increasing the base   wage being paid under Subsection (a) during that month by the   percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for Urban   Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), published by the Bureau   of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the   24-month period ending the July 31 preceding that date. The   commission shall compute the adjusted base wage to the nearest   cent.          SECTION 2.  If before implementing any provision of this Act   a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a   federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,   the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or   authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the   waiver or authorization is granted.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.