The proposal to increase Hawai‘i’s minimum wage to $18 by 2026 passed its first hurdle Monday, Jan. 24, but it still has more to clear before becoming law.
The state Senate Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, voted 4-0 to pass SB2018 to second reading. It will now head to second its second reading, which has yet to be scheduled. It must pass three readings at the Senate before crossing over to the House, which must also approve it.
Last year, the proposal died in the House.
Supporters said it’s time to enact the increase this year. The cost for everything has risen in the last three years, so the increase in wages will help those workers trying to keep pace with the rising prices and high cost of living in Hawai‘i.
“This is the right time,” Sen. Kurt Fevella, who represents District 19 on O‘ahu, including ‘Ewa Beach, said. “This is the right time for change.”
Fevella, one of the four votes on the committee to unanimously approve first reading, said nearly every industry received money during the pandemic and people who received social services like EBT also received a bump in their allotments. It’s only fair to adjust minimum wage. Businesses, who received financial help from the government during the shutdown, can afford it.
“Don’t let the industry say different,” he said. “This is the time to do it.”
SB2018 would incrementally increase the minimum wage over a period of four years, beginning with an increase to $12 on Oct. 1, 2022; $15 on Jan. 1, 2024; and $18 on...
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