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4/30/2024
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Senate approves Raptakis minimum wage study commission
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STATE HOUSE – The Senate today passed legislation (2024-S 2124) sponsored by Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis to create a special legislative commission to study and review Rhode Island’s minimum wage.
The purpose of the commission will be to make a comprehensive study of Rhode Island’s minimum wage, including a comparison and analysis of neighboring states practices and to provide recommendations that would benefit all Rhode Islanders.
“The state’s minimum wage, and in turn people’s ability to provide for themselves and their families, should not be treated as a political football every year by competing interests. We all know what the economy is like and how it’s becoming increasingly difficult for many to get by on a daily basis. The people doing minimum wage jobs — jobs that absolutely need to be done to keep many businesses going — need to earn a fair wage. This commission will help raise our minimum wage through careful analysis of our economic data., ensuring that our workers and our small businesses are being treated equitably. The commission will consider all of the economic facts and data, and make recommendations so that the state’s minimum wage rises fairly and it strengthens the position of both employees and businesses,” said Senator Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, West Greenwich).
The 11-member commission will consist of four members of the Senate, with three being appointed by the president of the Senate, and one being appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; the director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, or designee; the president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, or designee; the executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association (RIMA), or designee; the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), or designee; the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, or designee; a member of the general public to be appointed by the president of the Senate; and a professor of economics at the University of Rhode Island.
The commission will report its findings and recommendations to the Senate no later than May 4, 2025, and the commission would expire on January 4, 2026.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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