Top Democrats in the Nevada
Legislature predicted Monday that both the Senate and Assembly will
approve a plan to raise the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour for employers
who don't provide health benefits. Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins,
D-Henderson, said the minimum wage increase isn't a partisan issue.
Two-thirds of the 63-member Legislature signed on to AB87, the wage
increase plan. While most are Democrats, some Republicans are among the
co-sponsors. The bill is certain to pass the Democrat-controlled
Assembly, and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said she
expects it to win Senate approval too. She noted the same plan was in a
ballot question supported by two-thirds of the state's voters last fall
- and an even higher percentage approved it in places like Douglas
County, a GOP stronghold. The ballot question requires voter approval
again in 2006, but Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas,
chief sponsor of AB87, said her bill would speed up the process. "We
don't need to wait," she added. The bill is up for a hearing Wednesday
in the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee. While the $6.15 hourly
wage would have to be paid by employers who don't provide health
benefits, employers who do provide the benefits could pay $5.15 an hour. [more]