1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; authorizing the commissioner of human services 
1.3 	to develop a plan to increase the minimum hourly pay for direct service staff; 
1.4 	requiring a report.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. DIRECTION TO COMMISSIONER.
 1.7 	The commissioner of human services shall develop a plan to increase the minimum 
1.8 	hourly pay for direct service staff to $15 per hour with proportionate pay increases for 
1.9 	direct service staff who currently earn more than $15 per hour. The commissioner shall 
1.10 	report recommendations by January 1, 2017, to the legislative committees and divisions 
1.11 	with jurisdiction over human services policy and finance on how to increase pay for direct 
1.12 	service staff to $15 per hour, with the goal of implementing the recommendations by July 
1.13 	1, 2019. For purposes of this section, "direct service staff" means an employee who 
1.14 	spends 75 percent or more of their time providing one-on-one or small group services to a 
1.15 	recipient of medical assistance waiver services.