New Bill Would Double Louisiana’s Minimum Wage

It was just announced that a bill that was supposed to go before the Louisiana Senate Labor Committee today has been removed from the committee's agenda.

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A story from the Louisiana Radio Network only indicated that the bill, which would ultimately double Louisiana's minimum wage, was removed from today's agenda, leaving us to wonder if the bill has been totally scrapped, edited, or just postponed until another date.

Senator Gary Carter, who represents Jefferson, Orleans and Plaquemines parishes was set to bring this measure, which would provide for periodic raises to Louisiana's minimum wage, with the first raise to $10 per hour on January 1, 2024.

The second raise would be slated for 2028, when minimum wage would escalate to $14 per hour, nearly twice the current rate of $7.25 per hour in the Bayou State.

The LRN article highlights some interesting points on this conversation from “LAPolitics.com” publisher Jeremy Alford who points out that bills like this have been unsuccessfully introduced every year that John Bel Edwards has been Governor of Louisiana.  He states, “I have a hard time believing lawmakers will, all of a sudden, decide to reverse course on this issue and do something different.”

Additionally, Alford pointed out that while there's still talk of raises for teachers, first responders and for lawmakers themselves, the average Joe might never see those increases, “but I don’t think we’re going to see any kind of pay increase for your ‘mom & pop’ everyday worker in Louisiana.”

And, while sounding somewhat prophetic, apparently Alford hit the nail on the head as the bill would appear to be dead before even going to committee.  I guess we'll have to stick around and see how the story ends.