Committee amends and hears hours of testimony on bill to raise statewide minimum to $17 with CPI indexing; amendment to drop agricultural exemption adopted

Santa Fe — The Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee adopted an amendment to House Bill 246 and then heard hours of public testimony for and against raising New Mexico’s statewide minimum wage to $17 an hour and indexing future increases to the consumer price index.

The committee first adopted a sponsor amendment that, according to the sponsor, removes agriculture and other exemptions so the proposed minimum would apply broadly. The clerk recorded the amendment as adopted "on a vote of 6 to 3," the transcript states. A motion to adopt the amendment was seconded by Representative Terrazas; the record does not show the mover by name but the committee proceeded to a roll call and the chair announced the amendment was adopted.

Supporters of the $17-an-hour proposal included labor unions, faith groups and anti-poverty advocates, who argued that the current wage does not cover basic costs and that indexing would protect buying power. "The living wage for 1 adult in New Mexico is $21 an hour," said Meghan Green of CWA Local 7076, citing the MIT living-wage calculator in testimony.

Opponents included restaurant-industry groups, chambers of commerce, agricultural and rural representatives who said the immediate increase and the removal of exemptions would impose heavy costs on small businesses, processors and farms. Carol Wright, CEO of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, told the committee a small restaurant with 20 full-time employees would face nearly $395,000 in added annual payroll costs under the sponsor’s numbers and that 87 percent of tipped workers fear losing earnings if the tipped-pay system is removed.

Business witnesses from chambers and industry groups warned of price increases, reduced hours or layoffs, especially in rural areas and thin-margin sectors such as restaurants and long-term care. Nursing-facility and Medicaid-provider representatives requested offsets for Medicaid-funded programs, saying Medicaid rates have not been rebased since 2007 and providers could be forced to reduce services without rate adjustments.

Sponsor and expert testimony put the bill in a national context: the National Conference of State Legislatures policy associate on Zoom described which states currently index minimum wage to inflation and offered to supply comparative maps. Committee members asked about exemptions for agriculture, tipped workers, the bill’s CPI mechanism (and whether it has an annual cap), and the bill’s transition timeline. The sponsor said prior state action raised statewide minimum pay to $12 in recent years and that indexing would prevent future long periods of stagnation.

The transcript records dozens of in-person and Zoom witnesses on both sides, including business owners who said they may be forced to close or further raise prices and workers and advocates who argued a higher baseline is needed to address the state’s high poverty rate.

Ending: The committee adopted the sponsor’s amendment to remove exemptions and then continued with lengthy testimony; the provided record ends after extensive debate and public comment and does not include a final committee vote on the underlying bill.