Maine's minimum wage was set by its voters, who in 2016 passed a bill raising the minimum wage a little at a time until reaching $12 an hour in 2020. The current minimum wage is $10 an hour … but instead of allowing it to go up as the voters intended, Republican legislators are looking to drag it back down.
Republicans and some business groups have pushed to reverse a law they argue will harm Maine’s economy in the long-term. Lawmakers last year agreed to remove the voter-approved minimum wage hike for tipped employees. [...]
Republican Rep. Joel Stetkis’ bill would cut Maine’s minimum wage from $10 per hour to $9.50 per hour.
This bill undoes another part of the voter-approved minimum wage, as well, by eliminating cost of living increases.
Maine’s state legislature has already repealed or amended a slew of other ballot measures passed by voters in 2016, moves for which legislators may pay come November of this year. But actually cutting people’s pay is something special.