NH Committee Opposes Hike in Minimum Wage

The Republican-controlled N.H. Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday recommended, 3-2, that the full Senate reject a bill that would raise the minimum wage in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire’s minimum wage is the lowest in New England, matching the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Senate Bill 308 would increase it to $12 on Sept. 1 and $15 on July 1, 2025. The federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009.

Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, is the prime sponsor of the bill.

She acknowledged to the committee on Tuesday that only a relatively few workers in New Hampshire are being paid $7.25 an hour, but she said that keeping the minimum wage at that level sends a poor message about the value the Granite State places on workers.

“In a time when we are competing particularly for younger workers, I think it is due time that we settle on a number [for a higher minimum wage],” she said.

Sen. Shannon Chandley, D-Amherst, also argued in favor of the bill, while agreeing that not many people are paid the minimum in New Hampshire.

“But those are the very same people that we should be raising the minimum wage for,” she said. “Those people who are making minimum wage deserve to be making something closer to a living wage.”

Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, chairman of the Commerce Committee, said it’s best to let the free market decide wages without the state’s interference.

“The market is working,” Gannon said. “The real minimum wage is probably $13 to $14 dollars."

He said he has checked with Dunkin Donuts, gas stations and supermarkets and found they are all "paying in double figures.”

Sen. Daniel Innis, R-Bradford, said wages have risen for workers as employers have struggled to find enough employees in recent years.

“I’d further add that setting a blanket wage across a state, even one as small as ours, can be problematic,” he said. “Certain employers and living conditions and cost of living, say in the North Country versus Nashua or Salem, are very different, and I’m not sure the same level of wages would match up that well.”

The full Senate will eventually schedule a vote on SB 308.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology online calculator estimates a "living wage," or a level of pay adequate to support a person or a family in a given state depending on costs of various necessities. 

It estimates that a single person working full-time in New Hampshire would need to be earning $23.58 an hour to have a living wage. 

Rick Green can be reached at RGreen@KeeneSentinel.com or 603-355-8567

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