Minimum wage bills tabled in committee

The first minimum wage bills of the session were quickly tabled in the House Regulatory and Public Affairs Committee by the Republican majority. There were two pieces of legislation, one by Rep. Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe, and one by Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque. Each would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour but had […]

Minimum wage bills tabled in committee

dollar-billThe first minimum wage bills of the session were quickly tabled in the House Regulatory and Public Affairs Committee by the Republican majority.

There were two pieces of legislation, one by Rep. Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe, and one by Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque. Each would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour but had different timetables for doing so.

Both bills were tabled on a party-line vote with the four Republicans on the panel voting to table the legislation and the three Democrats on the panel voting against tabling.

Garcia told New Mexico Political Report following the hearing that he was not surprised by the committee’s action.

“We gave it our best shot. I think our presentation was really right on,” Garcia said. “There’s no trick to doing a $10.10 state minimum wage. I did it in the fairest way possible in terms of it being incremental.”

Garcia’s bill, HB 138, would have increased the hourly minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.40 in 2016, from $8.40 to $9.20 in 2017 and finally from $9.20 to $10.10 in 2018.

New Mexico would have joined seven other states and the District of Columbia in having minimum wages of $10 an hour or higher in 2018. Colorado and Arizona, the two states in the region with minimum wages higher than New Mexico, are projected to have minimum wages in the $8.60 to $8.65 range by 2018; both states’ minimum wages are tied to inflation.

The legislation also would have increased the tipped minimum wage from the current $2.13 per hour to 40 percent of the overall minimum wage.

Varela’s legislation, HB 20, would have increased the minimum wage straight to $10.10 per hour, with no phase-in.

Varela mentioned that Gov. Susana Martinez had previously vetoed a minimum wage increase in 2013.

“This year, she said she might consider raising the minimum wage,” Varela said. “And I said give her the opportunity to do it.”

He said he wasn’t sure it would be $10.10 per hour, but it might be something lower like $8.50 or $9.00 per hour.

Republicans on the panel said they were concerned about job losses. When Gerry Bradley, the senior researcher and policy analyst for New Mexico Voices for Children, said that it would not result in job losses, Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo, was skeptical.

“I just feel as though that can’t possibly be right,” she said.

Rep. Bob Wooley, R-Roswell, said that he was empathetic with those who earn the minimum wage. But he said that he was concerned about small businesses shutting down because of the increased costs from a minimum wage increase.

“It’s an important piece of legislation,” Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, R-Albuquerque, said in her support of the bill. “More than anything it’s a piece of legislation that notices our population, that we as government are taking our job responsibly.”

Garcia said he believed a smaller increase would just be for political cover.

“It’s just kind of catering to political sloganism and really placating those elements that really could care less about the working poor,” Garcia said.

In the testimony, business groups opposed the increases while poverty advocates and other groups supported the increases.

Terri Cole, the president of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said the organization believed the two pieces of legislation would both hurt small businesses and make the state less competitive with its neighbors.

Garcia credited the testimony for the relatively quick hearing (the hearing lasted just over an hour and a half) when asked if he was surprised by the relatively quick action.

“No, I’m not surprised because I think the committee had not only what we presented as presenters of the legislation, as authors of the legislation but also what the public comment entailed,” Garcia said. “I think that might have satisfied the committee in terms of any questions, any doubts they might have had, both for and against.”

At the request of Varela, the two pieces of legislation were heard together to save time.

Minimum Wage

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report