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Hawaii Governor Expected to Sign Minimum-Wage Hike

Hawaii lawmakers voted late on Tuesday to raise the U.S. state's hourly minimum wage to $10.10 from the federal minimum $7.25 at a time of heated national debate over wages and rising income inequality.

Hawaii lawmakers voted late on Tuesday to raise the U.S. state's hourly minimum wage to $10.10 from the federal minimum $7.25 at a time of heated national debate over wages and rising income inequality.

 

The new rate brings the Pacific state into line with the hourly wage U.S. President Barack Obama has pushed at a federal level, where the current rate stands at $7.25. Legislation to raise the national minimum wage has stalled in Congress.

 

In Hawaii, as at the national level, proposed increases have drawn strong opposition from some business owners, lobby groups, and economists, who say it will raise costs and kill jobs.

 

Hawaii now joins California, Maryland, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., in passing legislation to raise their state minimum wage over time to, or above, the $10 hourly mark, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

 

Under Hawaii's legislation, which passed both the state's Senate and House of Representatives in almost unanimous votes on Tuesday, increased wages would be phased in and reach the new rate by January 2018.

 

Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, who has expressed concern that the hourly minimum has not been increased since 2007, is expected to sign the bill on Wednesday.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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