Greer proposes Fast Food Council to set wages and standards for large chains
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Summary
Representative Will Greer presented a bill modeled on California's fast-food law to create a Fast Food Council that would set a sector minimum wage, review training and regulatory standards, and include appointed members from industry, employees and the public; members asked about tipped wages, funding and an IFA letter.
Representative Will Greer told the committee his second bill would establish a state Fast Food Council modeled on California legislation, with authority to set and annually review a minimum wage for qualifying fast-food workers and to oversee training and other regulations.
Greer said the draft uses California’s definition of a nationwide fast-food chain and read the language into the record: a nationwide fast-food chain is "a set of limited service restaurants consisting of more than 60 establishments nationally that share a common brand or are characterized by standardized options for decor, marketing, packaging, products and services, and which are primarily engaged in providing food and beverages for immediate consumption on or off the premises when patrons generally order or select items and pay before consuming with limited or no table service." He said the council's remit would include wage-setting, training standards and regulatory oversight intended to level competition between national chains and local restaurants.
Greer outlined a five-member voting structure in the draft: a restaurant-industry representative appointed by the governor, a restaurant owner appointed by the governor, a fast-food employee appointed by the speaker of the house, an advocate for fast-food employees appointed by the committee on committees, and one unaffiliated public member with specified conflict-of-interest restrictions.
Members asked if restaurant workers are already covered by minimum-wage laws and how tipped employees would be treated; Greer said existing tipped-wage frameworks complicate inserting a numeric rate into a short-form bill and that the council could make contextual wage determinations. A committee member noted a posted letter from the International Franchise Association; Greer said he had seen the letter and would follow up.
Greer referenced California’s 2023 Fast Food Council as both a model and a caution, saying the California body had been active initially but had not met regularly in recent months according to his review. Funding and per-diem or staff support for a council were left to appropriations and would be considered separately by the Appropriations Committee.
The committee did not vote on the measure; members asked for clarifications on definitions, appropriations and how the council would interact with existing minimum-wage rules.