WAM Sends Minimum Wage Bill to Senate

The state Legislature moved to raise Hawai‘i’s minimum wage to $15 by 2023.

The Senate’s Ways and Means committee passed Senate Bill 789 on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019,  setting it up for a final vote on the Senate floor.

The bill would raise Hawai‘i’s minimum wage to $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2020, then to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2023.

The state’s current minimum wage is $10.10 per hour; the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.

SB789 also provides for a tax credit for employers of 20% of the total hourly wages paid to employees, up to $50,000, that can be carried over to future tax years.

The votes in WAM were as follows:

10 Ayes—Sens. Dela Cruz, Keith-Agaran, English, K. Kahele, Kanuha, Shimabukuro, Taniguchi
3 Ayes with reservations—Sens. Moriwaki, Riviere, Fevella
0 Noes
3 Excused—Sens Harimoto, Inouye, Kidani

Supporters of the bill include the Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development, Catholic Charities Hawaii, ILWU Local 142, the League of Women Voters, the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice and the Hawai‘i Government Employees Association.