Ige signs $18 minimum wage increase, tax refund
Gov. David Ige on Wednesday signed legislation raising the state's minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2028.
The minimum wage will rise from $10.10 to $12 an hour this October. Then it will go up to $14 in January 2024, then to $16 in 2026. The final increase will take it to $18 in 2028.
The $18 minimum would be the highest dollar amount among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. However, some states automatically boost their minimum wage when the cost of living increases. California, which currently has a $15 minimum wage, could have a higher wage by 2028 given inflation.
Hawai’i last raised the minimum wage back in 2018. Ige called the new measure long overdue.
A state report estimates Kaua‘i “self-sufficiency wage” — the amount needed to cover basic housing, food, transportation and other costs — is $40,830 for a single adult. A person working at the current minimum wage of $10.10 an hour would make just $21,008 a year.
Based on this report, a person working full-time on Kaua‘i would need to make $19.62 an hour to afford the cost of living.
Progressive organizations Raise Up Hawai‘i, YES HI Tax Fairness, and Hawai‘i Appleseed applauded the bill signings in a release Wednesday.
“This historic legislation represents a significant and meaningful step toward transforming our economy so that it works for everyone,” said Hawai‘i Appleseed Executive Director Gavin Thornton. “But much more remains to be done.”
