Another party-line vote as minimum wage bill advances in Nevada Legislature
CARSON CITY — A resolution that would ask voters in 2020 to raise Nevada’s minimum wage won approval Friday in a Senate committee.
The Senate Commerce, Labor and Energy Committee voted 4-3 on party lines to approve Senate Joint Resolution 6. It now goes to the full Senate. It also must pass the Assembly to move forward.
The resolution would require the minimum wage to be increased by 75 cents an hour each year beginning on Jan. 1, 2022 until it reaches $12. It would also require the state minimum wage to be set at the federal rate if that rate is higher than what is proposed in the resolution.
The measure must be approved by the Legislature twice, this session and again in 2019, and then be approved by voters in 2020, before it could take effect.
A separate measure that would raise the minimum wage right away won a party-line vote in the Senate this week. Senate Bill 106 is in the Assembly.
Nevada’s current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour for employees who are offered qualified health benefits from their employers. The minimum wage for employees who are not offered health benefits is $8.25 per hour.
Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.