Minimum wage hikes, labor and tenant protections and a host of energy-related bills are on the agenda for the NH legislature this week.
Tuesday
The House Science, Technology and Energy Committee will hold hearings Tuesday on HB 558, which would regulate microgrids, and HB 605, which would increase solar generation under renewable portfolio standards from 0.7 percent to 3 percent in 2025. And it will vote on HB 381, which would not allow the state Public Utilities Commission to increase the system benefits charge without legislative permission.
Also on Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold hearings on Senate Bill 143, which will establish a $1 million scholarship fund for minority small businesses; SB 193, which would require those negotiating in good faith, to at least meet the other side 10 days following a written request; and SB 144, which would raise the minimum wage – currently at the federal rate of $7.25 an hour – to $13 an hour by September and $15 in July 2024. It would also tie the wage paid to tipped workers back to 45 percent of the minimum. It is currently untethered at $3.27 an hour, which is under that percentage under the current minimum, but will be above it should it go up.
The House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitation Services Committee will be voting on a similar bill (HB 57) that afternoon. It would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2025, and the tipped wage would be 50 percent. Another bill (HB 58) would do away with...
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