Expect decisions on hot-button issues, including a bill to restrict students to the school bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex and a tax plan championed by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval. The Assembly Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday to review AB483, which would require districts to set aside money each year for merit pay and prevents a collective bargaining agreement from sweeping that money elsewhere. Setting up a merit pay system has been tricky because the state is trying to decide how to to evaluate teachers, especially those who teach subjects that aren't assessed by standardized tests, according to Republican Assemblyman Lynn Stewart, vice chairman of the Assembly Education Committee. Members of the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee have planned a Wednesday hearing for SB193, which would raise the minimum wage from $8.25 an hour to $9 an hour for employees who don't receive health insurance through their employer. Democrats have questioned whether the amount is appropriate or should be higher, and have criticized the bill for doing nothing to raise the $7.25 per hour minimum wage for employees who do receive health benefits.