Bills Would Allow Local Minimum Wages, Put Statewide Hike On Ballot
The
Colorado House of Representatives’ State, Veterans, and Military Affairs
Committee this week passed two bills aimed at increasing the state’s minimum
wage. House Bill 1300 (PDF) would allow cities and
counties in the state to set their own minimum wages higher than the state
minimum. House Concurrent Resolution 1001 (PDF) would
create a ballot question seeking to increase the state minimum wage over four
years, from its current $8.23 per hour to $9.50 per hour in 2017 and increasing
$1 per hour each year until it reaches $12.50 in 2020.
6-5 party line votes with Democrats supporting them and Republicans opposing
them. Because HCR1001 requires two-thirds support from both chambers of the
Legislature to make it to the November ballot, Democrats need 10 House
Republicans to vote with them, making approval unlikely.
House Bill 1300 stands a good chance of passing the Democrat-led House, but
faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, where Senate
President Bill Cadman (R) issued a statement in opposition: “If they really
want to help improve things for working people, legislators should steer clear
of a proven job-killer like minimum wage mandates and instead focus on things
that actually might help improve Colorado’s economy, like regulatory reform,
creating schools that better prepare kids for the workforce and taking other
meaningful actions that will fine-tune the state’s business climate.”
What This Means For Small Business:
An increase in the state minimum
wage could force employers to shed workers in order to cover increased labor
costs, with a disproportionate burden falling on low-margin businesses like
restaurants. NFIB Colorado State Director Tony Gagliardi said, “Raising the
minimum wage disproportionately hurts small businesses and their employees,
directly impacting operating costs, increasing obstacles to hiring and
encouraging businesses to use less labor, not more. This policy is a blunt tool
that kills jobs, while failing to achieve the goal of alleviating poverty.”
Employers expressed concern that allowing local governments to set their own
minimum wages would result in an uneven playing field, causing business to move
from higher-wage cities to lower-wage ones.
Additional Reading:
The Denver Post, the Denver Business Journal, the Durango (CO) Herald, the AP, and the website of KUSA-TV report on the Colorado measures.
