Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
A statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.
The Senate on Friday sent another minimum wage bill to the governor. It approved House Bill 442, which would increase the state’s minimum wage to $9.25 an hour, up from $7.50 per hour.
“Hardworking New Mexicans deserve a fair wage that will give their families an opportunity to succeed,” said Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Española, a co-sponsor of the bill. “No one working 40 hours a week should be struggling to put food on the table.”
A day earlier the House approved Senate Bill 386, sponsored by Sen. Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants. That bill would raise the hourly minimum wage to $8.25 in October, then to $9 in April 2018. Beginning in October, it also would allow employers to pay an $8 training wage for 60 days.
The last time the Legislature approved a minimum wage law was in 2013, when Martinez vetoed a proposed wage of $8.50 an hour.
A spokesman for Martinez said recently, “The governor supports raising the minimum wage so long that it’s in line with neighboring states and doesn’t hurt small businesses.”
Arizona has a $10-an-hour minimum wage — which will increase to $10.50 in January, while Colorado’s is $9.30 and is scheduled to increase to $10.20 next year. New Mexico’s other neighbors — Texas, Oklahoma and Utah — each have a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which is the federal minimum wage.
This article comes from The Santa Fe New Mexican. NMPolitics.net is paying for the rights to publish articles about the 2017 legislative session from the newspaper. Help us cover the cost by making a donation to NMPolitics.net.