Legislative

Legislative watch on state, county & city issues that may affect your business.

cocpwd-minimum-wage-bill-WEBBetter Than Nothing?

That is what people keep saying about the increase to the minimum wage in Hawaii. While the new law does meet President Obama's goal of increasing the minimum wage nationwide it does so at such a slow pace that it appears cost of living increases will already cause it to be obsolete at providing a living wage for women and domestic workers, who comprise the majority of mimimum wage earners.

"I always thought it's not a minimum wage, it's a survival wage," Abercrombie said. "And in today's world, that minimum wage is not a survival wage, certainly in Hawaii."

The Details

Hawaii's minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2007. The new law will start to take effect on Jan 1, 2015 with a 50 cent raise. So in eight years, fifty cents is the best lawmakers could do? The minimum wage rate increases to $7.75 per hour beginning on 1/1/15, $8.50 per hour beginning on 1/1/16, $9.25 per hour beginning on 1/1/17, and $10.10 per hour beginning on 1/1/18.

About the tip credit. Lets look at the text right from Senate Bill 2609:

The hourly wage of a tipped employee may be deemed to be increased on account of tips if the employee is paid not less than:
     (1)  25 cents;
     (2)  50 cents per hour beginning January 1, 2015; and
     (3)  75 cents per hour beginning January 1, 2016,
below the applicable minimum wage by the employee's employer and the combined amount the employee receives from the employee's employer and in tips is at least 50 cents more than the applicable minimum wage[.]; provided that beginning January 1, 2015, the combined amount the employee receives from the employee's employer and in tips is at least $7.00 more than the applicable minimum wage."

 

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A Thanksgiving message from Representative Tulsi Gabbard

 In a March 2013 letter from Representative Tulsi Gabbard:

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RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

    SECTION 1. The legislature finds that a center providing comprehensive
services for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind individuals in Hawaii has
been the dream of the deaf community in Hawaii since 1972. The creation of a
comprehensive services center is intended to promote individual growth, social
awareness, productivity, and equality by empowering deaf, hard of hearing, and
deaf-blind individuals to be full participants in Hawaii's overall community.


    The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to the department of human
services to fund the establishment and operationa costs of a comprehensive
service center for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind individuals.

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY WITH COOPERATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE HAWAII VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU TO IMPROVE MARKETING AND VISITOR INFORMATION STRATEGIES TO ATTRACT DISABLED TRAVELERS TO HAWAII.

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that an estimated 1,200,000,000 people worldwide have disabilities, including 51,200,000 United States citizens, of which 32,500,000 have severe disabilities and 18,700,000 have non-severe disabilities; and

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