Hawaii governor seeks to boost minimum wage
The Hawaii Legislature opened its 2020 session on January 15 with a heavy focus on increasing the state's minimum wage, which currently sits at $10.10 an hour. Governor David Ige said one of his priorities will be to pass legislation gradually raising the minimum wage to $13 by 2025.
And they're off!
In support of Ige's priorities, lawmakers have introduced and scheduled several minimum wage bills for hearings, including:
- House Bill (HB) 2541 and Senate Bill (SB) 3102 would bump the wage to $11 an hour on January 1, 2021, and to $13 beginning January 1, 2024.
- SB 2466 more aggressively proposes a $11.30 rate beginning in 2021 and an increase to $15 by January 2024.
Other proposals appear aimed at increasing workers' earnings, too. Ige's agenda includes targeted tax relief designed to provide an annual cash benefit of $4,400 for each wage earner in the state. Another measure would expand children's access to pre-K opportunities so their parents can secure full-time employment instead of devoting some or all of their time to child care.
Expect the 2020 legislature to spend time discussing affordable housing. Keeping housing costs down would allow more working families to improve their standard of living and save for the future.
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