Bill to raise the minimum wage in NH is defeated

CONCORD — Bills to raise the minimum wage in New Hampshire and eliminate the one-week waiting period to collect unemployment benefits were defeated by the Republican majority in the state Senate on Thursday.

A proposal to increase the state’s workforce development and training fund from $2 million to $8.5 million was approved in a bipartisan 19-4 vote.

Senate Bill 83 called for the state to break away from the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, and establish a New Hampshire minimum wage of $8.50 an hour as of September, 2017, rising to $12 an hour by September of 2018.

Sen. Dan Innis, R-New Castle, said that change was “too much, too fast.”

Read more: http://www.unionleader.com/state-government/NH-Senate-Roundup-Bill-to-raise-the-minimum-wage-in-NH-is-defeated-03172017