Department of Budget and Management - Audit and Finance Compliance Unit - Establishment
Summary
HB1369 would create a new minimum wage requirement for county boards of education to pay certain education support professionals, defined as noncertificated public school employees in nonsupervisory bargaining units. The bill sets the wage floor at $25.00 per hour beginning July 1, 2025, and requires the rate to increase each July 1 thereafter based on inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) or a successor index. If inflation is flat or negative, the wage rate would remain unchanged.
The bill also directs that this new wage requirement applies notwithstanding the general wage provisions in the Labor and Employment Article, and it authorizes the State Board of Education to adopt regulations to implement the law. In practical terms, it would establish a statewide compensation floor for a subset of school support staff, affecting county boards of education and the budgets they use to pay eligible employees.
Impact
HB1369 would amend the Education Article by adding a new Section 6-306 under the subtitle on salaries and wages. It would impose a statutory minimum hourly wage for education support professionals and override conflicting provisions in ยง 3-413 of the Labor and Employment Article to the extent necessary to enforce that wage floor. The bill would directly affect county boards of education, public school support staff in covered bargaining units, and potentially school district labor and budgeting practices statewide.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the supplied materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to reflect a policy preference for raising pay for school support staff and indexing that pay to inflation, suggesting a generally pro-worker and pro-education-support sentiment.
Contention
The main likely point of contention is fiscal impact: county boards of education would be required to pay at least $25 per hour to covered education support professionals, with annual inflation adjustments, which could increase local education spending. Another possible issue is scope, since the bill applies only to noncertificated public school employees in nonsupervisory bargaining units, leaving questions about which workers are included or excluded. No specific objections or supporters are identified in the provided discussion materials.