An Act to Remove the Cost-of-living Adjustment from the Minimum Wage Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0998
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: FOSTER, HARRINGTON, STEWART, JAVNER, MORRIS, LIBBY
Amends: 22 MRSA §7402, 26 MRSA §664, 36 MRSA §5217-E

Legislative Document
No. 998
H.P. 634
House of Representatives, March 7, 2023
An Act to Remove the Cost-of-living Adjustment from the Minimum 
Wage Laws
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FOSTER of Dexter.
Cosponsored by Senator HARRINGTON of York, Senator STEWART of Aroostook and
Representatives: JAVNER of Chester, MORRIS of Turner, Senator: LIBBY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §7402, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 398, Pt. AAAA, §1, is 
amended to read:
1.  At least 125% of the minimum wage.  An amount equal to at least 125% of the 
minimum wage established in Title 26, section 664, subsection 1 for the labor portion of 
the reimbursement rate.  An increase to the minimum wage must be applied to the 
reimbursement rate at the time the increase takes place; and
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §7402, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 398, Pt. AAAA, §1, is 
amended to read:
2.  Taxes and benefits.  An amount necessary to reimburse the provider for taxes and 
benefits paid or costs incurred by the provider that are directly related to the reimbursed 
wage increase in subsection 1.  This amount must be adjusted whenever an increase to the 
minimum wage is applied to the reimbursement rate under subsection 1.
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA §664, sub-§1, as amended by IB 2015, c. 2, §1, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Minimum wage.  The minimum hourly wage is $7.50 per hour.  Starting January 
1, 2017, the minimum hourly wage is $9.00 per hour; starting January 1, 2018, the 
minimum hourly wage is $10.00 per hour; starting January 1, 2019, the minimum hourly 
wage is $11.00 per hour; and starting January 1, 2020, the minimum hourly wage is $12.00 
$13.80 per hour.  On January 1, 2021 and each January 1st thereafter, the minimum hourly 
wage then in effect must be increased by the increase, if any, in the cost of living. The 
increase in the cost of living must be measured by the percentage increase, if any, as of 
August of the previous year over the level as of August of the year preceding that year in 
the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, CPI-W, for the 
Northeast Region, or its successor index, as published by the United States Department of 
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor agency, with the amount of the minimum 
wage increase rounded to the nearest multiple of 5¢.   If the highest federal minimum wage 
is increased in excess of the minimum wage in effect under this section, the minimum wage 
under this section is increased to the same amount, effective on the same date as the 
increase in the federal minimum wage, and must be increased in accordance with this 
section thereafter.
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §5217-E, sub-§1, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. H, §15, 
is amended by amending subparagraph (3) to read:
(3)  During the taxable year had earned income of at least the state minimum wage, 
as set out in Title 26, section 664, subsection 1, as adjusted for cost-of-living 
increases, as determined on January 1st of the taxable year, multiplied by 936 
hours.  The assessor may adopt rules reducing this amount if a portion of the 
taxable year falls within a disaster period. Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subparagraph are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2‑A.
SUMMARY
This bill sets the minimum hourly wage at $13.80 per hour and removes the 
requirement that each January 1st the minimum hourly wage be increased by the increase, 
if any, in the cost of living. It also corrects provisions in law that reference the annual 
increase to the minimum hourly wage.