HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.121         
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TO
   REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE MINIMUM WAGE LAWS.


 1       WHEREAS, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was
 2   the original minimum wage legislation, the spirit and intent of
 3   which was to ensure that the minimum hourly wage paid to a
 4   full-time employee would yield a basic, living wage; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, the rate of the original federal minimum wage was
 7   calculated as one-half of the national average hourly wage paid
 8   to non-farm, non-supervisory employees; and
 9   
10       WHEREAS, because this calculation is based upon a national
11   standard, in areas of the country, such as this State, where
12   the cost of living is substantially higher, the federal minimum
13   wage falls far below a living wage; and
14   
15       WHEREAS, during the 1994-1998 period, the cost of living
16   differential between the State and the national average has
17   been estimated to be between 25 and 40 per cent, and is
18   commonly referred to as the "paradise tax"; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, in recent years, both the state and the federal
21   minimum wage have failed to maintain a rate consistent with the
22   original intent to produce a living wage; and
23   
24       WHEREAS, using the November 1998 figure for the non-
25   supervisory national average wage of $12.93 and, assuming a 25
26   per cent cost-of-living differential for Hawaii, Hawaii's
27   minimum wage today should be $8.08; and
28   
29       WHEREAS, the State's current minimum wage is $5.25 an hour;
30   and
31   
32       WHEREAS, the benefit of increasing the minimum wage to a
33   living wage extends beyond the benefit to the individual wage
34   earners; and
35   
36       WHEREAS, other important benefits include:
37   
38       (1)  A significant reduction in welfare payments from the
39            state general fund because a living wage lifts some
40            employees out of poverty and off the welfare rolls;

 
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 1       (2)  Stimulation of the local consumer economy by reducing
 2            the profits to out-of-state "big box" retailers
 3            derived from paying low wages and increasing the
 4            amount of money kept in circulation in the State's
 5            local economy when spent by the wage earners;
 6   
 7       (3)  Increased tax revenues from income taxes and general
 8            excise taxes; and
 9   
10       (4)  Creation of a "public-private partnership" where the
11            private sector accepts the social responsibility of
12            ensuring that all of its employees receive a basic,
13            living wage; 
14   
15   now, therefore,
16   
17       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
18   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
19   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Labor
20   and Industrial Relations is requested to:
21   
22       (1)  Review and evaluate the State's existing minimum wage
23            law;
24   
25       (2)  Compare Hawaii's minimum wage law with minimum wage
26            laws in other states;
27   
28       (3)  Study the effects of increasing Hawaii's minimum wage
29            to a living wage; and
30   
31       (4)  Make recommendations, including proposed legislation,
32            to reform the State's minimum wage law;
33   and
34   
35       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
36   Bureau provide administrative support to the Department of
37   Labor and Industrial Relations, including the preparation of a
38   report reviewing and comparing minimum wage laws in the other
39   states; and
40   
41       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and
42   Industrial Relations submit a report with its findings and
43   recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the
44   Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of
45   the Regular Session of 2000; and

 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.121         
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor
 3   and Industrial Relations and the Director of the Legislative
 4   Reference Bureau.
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 8                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________