An Act To Make the Minimum Wage a Livable Wage
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0721
Committee: Labor
Amends: 5 MRSA §1825-B, 5 MRSA §13070

Legislative Document 
No. 721 
H.P.516 
House of Representatives, February 10,2005 
An Act To Make the Minimum Wage a Livable Wage 
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representati ve EDER of Portland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
'/J1~ /J1.1lldC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 5 MRSA §IO-A is enacted to read: 
§10-A. 
Wage requirements 
1. 
Minimum 
wage 
requirements. 
All 
state officers 
and 
employees must be paid a minimum hourly wage that is the greater 
of: 
A. 
The minimum hourly wage set forth in Title 26, section 
664; and 
B. 
The minimum hourly wage that is calculated pursuant to 
section 13070-P, subsection 2, paragraph B. 
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§7, as amended by PL 1997, c. 263, 
§1, is further amended to read: 
7. 
Awards 
to 
best-value 
bidder. 
EHeert 
Subject 
tq 
subsection 12 and except as otherwise provided by law, orders 
awarded or contracts made 
by 
the Director of 
the 
Bureau oi 
General Services or by any department or agency of the State must 
be awarded to the best-value bidder, taking into consideration 
the qualities of the goods or services to be supplied, their 
conformity with the specifications, the purposes for which they 
are required, the date of delivery and the best interest of the 
State. 
If the bidder that was initially awarded the order or 
contract does not perform, the Director of the Bureau of General 
Services may cancel the contract and award a new contract to the 
2nd best-value bidder. 
The order or contract may not be awarded 
to a bidder that the Director of the Bureau of General Services 
determined was not in compliance at the time the initial bid was 
submitted. 
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§8. as amended by PL 1991, c. 780, 
Pt. Y, §70, is further amended to read: 
8. 
Tie bids. 
±Be Subject to subsection 12, the Director of 
the Bureau of General Services shall award contracts or purchases 
to in-state bidders or to bidders offering commodities produced 
or manufactured in the State if the price, quality, availability 
and other factors are equivalent. 
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§12 is enacted to read: 
12. 
Wage requirements. 
Orders awarded or contracts made by 
the 
Director 
of 
the 
Bureau 
of 
General 
Services 
or 
by 
any 
department or agency of the State may not be awarded to a bidder 
Page l-LR0233(1) 
unless the bidder pays its employees a minimum hourly wage that 
is the greater of: 
A. 
The minimum hourly wage set forth in Title 26, section 
664; and 
B. 
The minimum hourly wage that is calculated pursuant to 
section 13070-P, subsection 2, paragraph B. 
Sec. 5. 5 MRSA §13070.P is enacted to read: 
§13070-P. 
Compliance with livable wages for subsidized employers 
1. 
Definitions. 
As 
used 
in this 
section, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
4B 
A. 
"Average monthly salary" means 
the fair market rent 
divided by .3 for the fair market rent area in which the 
employer is located. 
B. 
"Average weekly salary" means the average monthly salary 
divided by 4.3. 
c. 
"Fair 
market 
rent" 
means 
the 
fair 
market 
rent 
as 
determined by the United States Department of Housing and 
Urban Development for a one-bedroom apartment. 
D. 
"Fair market rent area" means the metropolitan area or 
nonmetropoli tan county, as determined by the United States 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, in which a fair 
market rent applies. 
E. 
"Taxpayer incentive payment" means any grant payment or 
tax credit, reimbursement or forgiveness made pursuant to: 
(1) 
The 
business 
equipment 
tax 
reimbursement 
under 
Title 36, chapter 915; 
(2) 
The Maine Employment Tax Increment Financing Act; 
(3) 
The jobs and investment tax credit under Title 36, 
section 5215; 
(4) 
The research expense tax credit under Title 36, 
section 5219-K; or 
(5) 
The shipbuilding facility credit under Title 36, 
chapter 919. 
2. 
Wage restrictions on subsidized employers. 
An employer 
is eligible to receive taxpayer incentive payments only if the 
employer pays its employees a minimum hourly wage that is the 
greater of: 
A. 
The minimum hourly wage set forth in Title 26, section 
664; and 
B. 
The minimum hourly wage that is calculated by dividing 
the average weekly salary by 40. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
requires 
that 
state 
employees, 
employees 
of 
entities 
with 
whom 
the 
State 
contracts 
and 
employees 
of 
businesses 
that 
receive 
grant 
payments, 
tax 
credits, 
tax 
reimbursement 
or 
tax 
forgiveness 
from 
the 
State 
receive 
a 
"livable" wage.