NASHUA – Arkansas, Missouri and West Virginia – which are considered “red states” because of the relatively strong support Republican President Donald Trump receives – require employers to exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

New Hampshire, considered a state more likely to go “blue” in support of a Democrat in the Electoral College during presidential elections, does not.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed similar legislation last year, but New Hampshire Democrats are once again working to hike minimum wage beyond the federal requirement. Thursday, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted 212-155 in favor of H.B. 731.

If the bill were to ultimately become law, New Hampshire employers would eventually be required to pay workers at least $15 per hour.

“I am excited that the House of Representatives passed this bill in a bipartisan vote that will increase our state’s minimum wage to $15 over the next few years,” state Rep. Brian Sullivan, D-Grantham, said. “We continue to be the only state in New England that allows our minimum wage to be dictated by the federal government. It is long past due to adopt a minimum wage in New Hampshire. Forcing families to live on $7.25 an hour is a New Hampshire Disadvantage.”

According to the bill, minimum wage would jump from $7.25 per hour to $8.50 per hour within 60 days of its enactment. It would then follow this schedule of increases:

• $10.60 per hour by Jan. 1, 2021;

• $11.70 per hour by Jan. 1, 2022;

• $12.80 per hour by Jan. 1, 2023;

• $13.90 per hour by Jan. 1, 2024; and

• $15 per hour by Jan 1, 2025 and thereafter.

Raise Up New Hampshire calls itself “a coalition of faith, labor, and grassroots community organizations convened by the Granite State Organizing Project.” Group spokeswoman Kathy Staub praised Democrats for taking the action.

“This bill would benefit one in four workers in New Hampshire, benefiting the most vulnerable in our state and boosting local economies by providing low-wage workers enough income to spend money on local businesses.

If an employee earning the current $7.25 minimum wage worked 40 hours per week for 52 weeks in a year, he or she would realize an annual salary of $15,080. This averages about $290 per week, or slightly more than $1,200 per month.

For perspective, the average monthly cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Greater Nashua is now $1,506, according to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.

However, Sununu has said that less than 1% of Granite Staters earned minimum wage in 2018, with most of those being employees who also collected tips.

“There is nothing positive about reducing a worker’s chances of getting a job,” Sununu said last year about vetoing the increase Democratic legislators passed.

House Minority Leader Richard Hinch, R-Merrimack, called the bill “job-killing legislation.”

“New Hampshire employers know best when it comes to compensation of their employees and we should continue allowing them to make those decisions. This bill would harm those entering the workforce looking for entry-level jobs and our family-owned small businesses more than anyone,” Hinch said.

“Rather than embracing the successful policies of Republican leadership, Democrats seem content to repeatedly try to undermine New Hampshire’s economic progress by mandating a 100% wage hike for some,” he added.

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