70°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Nevada minimum wage would hit $15 per hour if bill becomes law

CARSON CITY – A proposal was introduced Monday in the Nevada Legislature to nearly double the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Assembly Bill 175, sponsored by Assemblyman William McCurdy II, D-Las Vegas, is the more aggressive of two minimum wage bills introduced so far during the 2017 session.

Minimum wage is $7.25 per hour if an employer offers health insurance and $8.25 if no insurance is offered.

McCurdy’s measure would raise the minimum wage by $1.25 per hour, per year, until it reaches $15 by 2022 if an employer does not offer health insurance, or $14 per hour if insurance is offered.

A bill pending in the Senate seeks a gradual increase of 75 cents per hour each year until it reaches $11 per hour with insurance or $12 without insurance.

McCurdy said nearly 300,000 Nevada workers would see a raise under his bill.

“Raising Nevada’s minimum wage is an important step towards bridging the widening gap between income and opportunity inequality,” McCurdy said in a statement. “Local businesses, our state’s economy, and, most importantly, everyday Nevadans will benefit from a pay raise.”

The proposal will generate opposition from small employers and businesses, who in the past have argued that raising the minimum wage will force them to reduce their workforce or raise prices.

A hearing on AB175 is scheduled Wednesday before the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.

THE LATEST
Common ground: Survey shows Nevadans agree on more than you might think

A series of surveys from the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation at the School of Public Policy found Democrats and Republicans agree on over 50 policy proposals, from immigration to health care to foreign policy.

 
Lombardo to activate National Guard for Election Day

Gov. Joe Lombardo will activate 60 members to be on status and stationed in Nevada National Guard facilities in both Carson City and Las Vegas on Nov. 5.