LIHU‘E — The state Legislature convened Wednesday, with leaders from the House and Senate presenting a bold vision for the upcoming session.
Legislative leaders announced plans to raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour, invest $600 million in the Hawaiian Homelands trust, improve mental-health resources and address the statewide teacher shortage.
For the House, this session provides the chance to continue work for economic justice that was put on hold during the pandemic.
“This is where we were going before the pandemic,” said state Rep. Dee Morikawa, who represents west and south Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau and is majority floor leader. “With the economy improving the way it has we can begin to pick it up again.”
House Speaker Scott Saiki said that he intends to advance legislation to increase the hourly minimum wage from $10.10 to $18, increase the food-tax credit, and make the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable and permanent.
“It’s going to be a huge impact for working people,” Morikawa said of the potential minimum-wage increase. “We have to increase wages in order to afford the cost of living.”
According to Saiki, the entire package would give a family an additional $33,600 in income. The bill, still being drafted, will be introduced in the house Monday, Saiki reported.
State Rep. James Tokioka, who represents Lihu‘e, portions of Wailua and the South Shore, was more cautious about a minimum-wage increase, because of the effect it would have on small businesses.
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