Minimum wage bill teed up for House vote
A panel of House lawmakers Friday moved forward with a proposal that would raise Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2024 as well as make Hawaiʻi’s earned income tax credit refundable.
House Bill 2541 will now go to a vote by the full 51-member House, where it is likely to pass, before going to the Senate. It’s one of four bills introduced as a joint effort by the legislature, Governor David Ige and the business community.
The vote was met with quick rebuke from a coalition of local companies, labor unions and nonprofits that have advocated for a raise in wages to at least $17 an hour by 2025.
“The increase in minimum wage to $13 by 2024 in the bill falls far short of what working people need to afford the basics,” Raise Up Hawaiʻi said in a press release.
