BILL REQ. #:  H-4064.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to achieving economic security through income sufficient to meet basic needs; amending RCW 49.46.005 and 49.46.020; and providing for submission of this act to a vote of the people.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 49.46.005 and 1961 ex.s. c 18 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Whereas the establishment of a minimum wage for employees is a subject of vital and imminent concern to the people of this state and requires appropriate action by the legislature to establish minimum standards of employment within the state of Washington, therefore the legislature declares that in its considered judgment the health, safety and the general welfare of the citizens of this state require the enactment of this measure, and exercising its police power, the legislature endeavors by this chapter to establish a minimum wage for employees of this state to encourage employment opportunities within the state and to allow employees to support themselves and their families with dignity. The legislature seeks to establish a minimum wage that enables employees to provide for the basic needs of their families and, therefore, not rely on social services provided by the state and paid for by state taxpayers. The provisions of this chapter are enacted in the exercise of the police power of the state for the purpose of protecting the immediate and future health, safety and welfare of the people of this state.

Sec. 2   RCW 49.46.020 and 1999 c 1 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Until January 1, 1999, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years wages at a rate of not less than four dollars and ninety cents per hour.
     (2) Beginning January 1, 1999, and until January 1, 2000, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years wages at a rate of not less than five dollars and seventy cents per hour.
     (3))) Beginning January 1, 2000, and until January 1, 2001, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years wages at a rate of not less than six dollars and fifty cents per hour.
     (((4))) (2)(a) Beginning on January 1, 2001, and each following January 1st until January 1, 2009, as set forth under (b) of this subsection, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years wages at a rate of not less than the amount established under (b) of this subsection.
     (b) On September 30, 2000, and on each following September 30th, until September 30, 2008, the department of labor and industries shall calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate to maintain employee purchasing power by increasing the current year's minimum wage rate by the rate of inflation. The adjusted minimum wage rate shall be calculated to the nearest cent using the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the twelve months prior to each September 1st as calculated by the United States department of labor. Each adjusted minimum wage rate calculated under this subsection (((4))) (2)(b) takes effect on the following January 1st.
     (((5))) (3)(a) Beginning on January 1, 2009, and each following January 1st as set forth under (b) of this subsection, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years wages at a rate of not less than the amount established under (b) of this subsection.
     (b) On September 30, 2008, and on each following September 30th, the department of labor and industries shall calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate to maintain employee purchasing power by increasing the current year's minimum wage rate by the rate of inflation. Each adjusted minimum wage rate calculated under this subsection (3)(b) takes effect on the following January 1st. The adjusted minimum wage rate shall be calculated to the nearest cent using the percentage increase in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the twelve months prior to each September 1st as calculated by the United States department of labor plus three percent.
     (4) The director shall by ((regulation)) rule establish the minimum wage for employees under the age of eighteen years.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The secretary of state shall submit this act to the people for their adoption and ratification, or rejection, at the next general election to be held in this state, in accordance with Article II, section 1 of the state Constitution and the laws adopted to facilitate its operation.