An Act to Replace the Minimum Hourly Wage with a Regionally
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0853
Committee: Labor
Sponsors: GEIGER
Amends: 26 MRSA §663, 26 MRSA §664

Legislative Document
No. 853
H.P. 539
House of Representatives, March 4, 2025
An Act to Replace the Minimum Hourly Wage with a Regionally 
Based Living Wage
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GEIGER of Rockland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BECK of South Portland, MACIAS of Topsham, ROEDER 
of Bangor, WARREN of Scarborough, Senator: TIPPING of Penobscot.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §663, sub-§16 is enacted to read:
16.  Coastal region.  "Coastal region" means the counties of Hancock, Waldo, Knox, 
Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Kennebec and Oxford.
Sec. 2.  26 MRSA §663, sub-§17 is enacted to read:
17.  Northern region.  "Northern region" means the counties of Aroostook, 
Piscataquis, Penobscot, Somerset, Franklin, Washington and Androscoggin.
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA §663, sub-§18 is enacted to read:
18.  Portland metropolitan region.  "Portland metropolitan region" means the 
counties of York and Cumberland.
Sec. 4.  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 $14.65 per hour in the coastal 
region, northern region and Portland metropolitan region until December 31, 2025.  
Beginning January 1, 2026, the minimum hourly wage in the coastal region is the living 
wage determined by the institute for the State as a whole, for one adult with no children, as 
of January 1, 2025. Beginning January 1, 2026, the minimum hourly wage in the northern 
region is the living wage determined by the institute for the Bangor metropolitan area, for 
one adult with no children, as of January 1, 2025. Beginning January 1, 2026, the minimum 
hourly wage in the Portland metropolitan region is the living wage determined by the 
institute for the Portland-South Portland metropolitan area, for one adult with no children, 
as of January 1, 2025.  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 per hour.  On January 1, 2021 2027 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.
For the purposes of this subsection, "institute" means the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology or a successor organization that publishes living wage data for the State.
SUMMARY
This bill replaces the minimum wage for the State with a regional living wage 
beginning January 1, 2026, according to data provided by the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, Living Wage Calculator, or its successor organization. The bill divides the 
State into regions based on counties for the purposes of a regional living wage. The bill 
provides that, until December 31, 2025, the minimum hourly wage is $14.65, which is the 
minimum hourly wage as of January 1, 2025.