With last minute amendments, state House Bill 2510, which sought to raise the state’s minimum wage, passed out of conference committee on Friday.
The bill that left committee raises the state’s current $10.10 base pay to $18 in January 2028, two years behind what passed out of the House earlier in April.
HB2510 will now move minimum wage to $12 in October, then to $14 in January 2024, $16 in 2026, and finally to $18 in 2028.
While both the House and Senate committed to raising base pay, there was disagreement on how quickly to stage the increase, with the Senate opting for a more aggressive, quicker approach.
“While we are disappointed that the Senate’s version of the measure was not included in the final conference draft, I am pleased that we will at least be able to start providing wage increases to workers across the State beginning on October 1, 2022,” said state Sen. Brian Taniguchi (District 11) in a release. “Coming to a compromise on an issue of this magnitude is not easy and we recognize that this is not a perfect bill. But given the circumstances, we did the best that we could.”
Hawai’i last raised minimum wage back in 2018.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed Executive Director Gavin Thornton said this is a historic moment and "huge leap" in making Hawai’i’s wage livable.
“To make ends meet, someone would need to earn over $19 an hour,” Thornton said. “Currently, the minimum wage is $10.10, boosting it to $18, stepping up over the next few years, isn't going to get us all the...
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