Minimum wage bill heads to full Senate for final vote

The state Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday passed a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $18.

House Bill 2510 (HD2 SD1) — which was previously amended in the Senate Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts incrementally increases the minimum wage to $18 by 2026 — removes the earned income tax credit and also reduces the tip credit to 35 cents per hour beginning Oct. 1 and eliminates it on Jan. 1, 2026.

The state House’s version of this bill originally included provisions that would increase the state’s tip credit, make the earned income tax credit refundable and permanent, and increase the minimum wage on a slower schedule.

“From the beginning of session, the Senate made its position very clear — we will raise the minimum wage to $18 by 2026,” Sen. Brian Taniguchi, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, said in a statement. “While we are disappointed that the House has still not scheduled a hearing for the minimum wage bill (Senate Bill 2018) that we passed over to them in late January, we are pleased that we were able to make changes to HB 2510 that reflect the Senate’s position and the feedback that we received from the community.”

SB 2018 is not entirely dead yet because the House can still pull the measure from committee and transmit it to the floor for a vote.

HB 2510 now heads to the Senate floor for a final vote.