Raise Up Hawaiʻi

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Minimum wage bill teed up for House vote

A panel of House lawmakers Friday moved forward with a proposal that would raise Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2024 as well as make Hawaiʻi’s earned income tax credit refundable.

House Bill 2541 will now go to a vote by the full 51-member House, where it is likely to pass, before going to the Senate. It’s one of four bills introduced as a joint effort by the legislature, Governor David Ige and the business community.

The vote was met with quick rebuke from a coalition of local companies, labor unions and nonprofits that have advocated for a raise in wages to at least $17 an hour by 2025.

“The increase in minimum wage to $13 by 2024 in the bill falls far short of what working people need to afford the basics,” Raise Up Hawaiʻi said in a press release.

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