AUSTIN, Texas — A new bill filed in the 88th Texas Legislature is aimed at helping families secure paid parental leave.
On Wednesday morning, State Rep. Penny Morales Shaw (D-Houston) was at the Texas State Capitol to introduce House Bill 2604, also known as the "Texas Family Act."
The bill calls for the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to create a paid parental leave program. Under the bill, the TWC would establish the "Texas Family Fund Program" to "administer, distributive payments for and assess contributions" for paid parental leave.
The program, which would be under the Texas comptroller, would consist "of contributions collected under this chapter, interest earned on money in the fund and other money received for the fund from any other source," according to the bill's current text. The comptroller would administer funding with guidance from the TWC.
The bill states that the program would entitle an employee to 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth of a child, birth of a child by their spouse, birth of a child by a surrogate or adoption of a child.
"For the pro-family stance that we're taking across our state, we need our laws to align with that standard, with those values," Morales Shaw said Wednesday. "We don't need lip service. We need things that actually support our families and our kids to have well-rounded, healthy communities."
The bill also states the breakdown of the amount of money employees would be paid under different circumstances. For example, if an employee makes less than $15 an hour or less than $31,200 a year, they would be paid 100% of their weekly wage during the paid leave.
Morales Shaw said she realizes her bill would have a significant impact on small businesses, but added that it can also benefit those businesses by helping employees.
She also said some lawmakers across the aisle have told her they support the bill.
To learn more, read the full text of the bill.