Bill would raise state minimum wage to $10.10

Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, has introduced a bill to the Montana Legislature that would raise the hourly minimum wage in Montana by about 25 percent.

Calling Senate Bill 2 an economic development measure, Windy Boy introduced the bill in the senate’s Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee on Jan. 21.

Under the bill, the state’s minimum wage would rise to $10.10 per hour from the current $8.05 starting January 2016. The minimum wage also would be subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment.

In addition, business owners with up to 50 employees would be able to claim tax credits for three years to offset the costs of providing higher wages. Windy Boy said this would give small business owners time to adjust to the change.

“So a wage hike and tax breaks would even things out there,” he said.

The Department of Labor and Industry estimates 12,850 Montana workers, or 2.9 percent of the workforce, received hourly wages less than $8.05 an hour in 2014.

Twenty-nine states, including Montana and Washington D.C., have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 as of Jan. 1 of this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But Windy Boy’s bill is likely to face resistance in the Republican-controlled legislature.

Montana Commissioner of Labor and Industry Pam Bucy said she spoke for Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in support of the bill. She said it would increase the standard of living and purchasing power for Montanans.

“In real terms, after adjusting for inflation, Montana’s minimum wage was higher in the 70s than it is now,” she said.

Citing a study from the Seattle-based Alliance for Justice in Society, Sheena Rice, with the social justice group Montana Organizing Project, said $14.40 per hour is a living wage for a single adult in Montana.

“The current minimum wage falls far short of what Montana families need to get by,” she said. “But $10.10 is a good start.”

The Montana Chamber of Commerce opposes the bill, however, and the group’s government relations director, Glen Oppel, said the move would lead to higher rates of unemployment in the state.

“We appreciate the intent of the bill but oppose it for its challenges for business owners,” he said.

Brad Griffin, the executive director of the Montana Restaurant Association, noted that Montana voters approved a ballot measure in 2006 to raise the minimum wage annually base on inflation, and that should settle the issue.

“The initiative is doing its job,” he said, noting that the state’s minimum wage has risen 24 percent in the last four years.