Local minimum wage law ban moves forward

Idaho legislators are moving forward with a measure that would ban local governments from creating a patchwork of minimum wage laws across the state.

House Bill 463 prohibits local governments from instituting ordinances to raise the minimum wage, while banning similar ballot initiatives. The House Business Committee voted along party lines Monday in a 14-3 vote to approve the ban, but it must now clear both chambers before it lands on Gov. Butch Otter's desk.

Pam Eaton of the Idaho Retailers Association told the Republican-controlled committee that raising minimum wage in some communities and not others creates a checkerboard of regulation that is unfair to businesses. She argued it's also unclear whether local municipalities have the authority to impose a minimum wage increase.

"So rather than making this out to be a state versus city issue, it should be touted as the best way to work together to ensure Idaho doesn't become a tough business environment," she said. "The two working together to ensure businesses grow and prosper grows the economy and helps the citizens prosper."

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, chairs the House Business Committee. He supports the bill primarily because it would prevent a patchwork of differing wage laws all over the state.

He said if Idaho allows cities and counties to establish their own wages laws, what is to stop them from setting other employment criteria like health insurance and family leave laws?

“How far do we take this?” he asked. “That should stay with the state for uniformity sake.”

Barbieri said Seattle has lost about 700 jobs since the city implemented its $15-per-hour minimum wage.

“I am a businessman myself and I only have so much money I can allocate to wages,” he said. “If a business has no profit, you have no business and if you have no business then you have no jobs.”

The measure's critics, including the committee's three Democrats, say the legislation takes away local control and ensures that Idaho will remain a low-wage state. Rep. John Rusche questioned Eaton about how local communities will meet the specific needs of their constituents under the new law.

"How do you suggest that Idaho deal with the problem of a minimum wage that does not support or provide for a family?" he questioned.

Eaton replied that in studies conducted by the groups she represents, most Idahoans oppose a minimum wage increase.

In November, a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage for low-wage workers in McCall failed after 53 percent of the city's population voted against the measure.

The proposed minimum wage ban is one of two bills being considered in the Idaho Legislature this year that would limit local control through pre-emptive bans. A second measure approved by the Idaho House earlier this month would make it illegal for local governments to impose restrictions on plastic bags and Styrofoam containers.