Bill to raise minimum wage to $18 an hour passes Senate
A bill that would increase the hourly minimum wage to $18 by 2026 has already passed the state Senate.
Senate Bill 2018 was introduced to the state Legislature last Wednesday, and has already passed two Senate committee hearings and three readings in the full Senate. The bill now goes before the state House of Representatives.
The two Senate committees — the Ways and Means Committee and the Labor, Culture and the Arts Committee — both voted unanimously to pass the bill earlier this week.
Should the bill become law, the minimum wage in Hawaii would increase to $12 an hour beginning Oct. 1, and then to $15 an hour at the start of 2024. The final increase to $18 an hour would take place at the beginning of 2026.
House Bill 2510, which would increase the hourly minimum wage to $18 by 2030, was introduced in the House Wednesday, but has seen no further movement yet.
