Lawmakers reject minimum wage increase
State lawmakers agreed to decriminalize possession of small quantities of marijuana in Hawaiʻi but abandoned plans to increase the state minimum wage for the time being as House and Senate negotiators Friday wrapped up the bulk of their bargaining over bills for this year.
In a development that derailed one of the top priorities of the Hawaiʻi Democratic Party for this year, House and Senate negotiators gave up on the idea of passing an increase in the $10.10-per-hour state minimum wage this year.
Longtime Democratic Party activist Bart Dame said the state has been “derelict” for failing to increase the wage floor, citing state data that shows a single person needs to earn $15 to $17 an hour to be self-sufficient in Hawaiʻi.
“It looks like the legislative leadership of both chambers is just out of touch with the real conditions facing working people in Hawaiʻi, who are struggling to pay basic expenses,” he said. “They’re just so out of touch with the actual conditions faced by working people that they can play games and kill a bill like this when there’s no good reason for doing it.”
