CARSON CITY — A proposed constitutional amendment to raise Nevada’s minimum wage to $9 an hour beginning in 2022 has been approved by the Senate Commerce, Labor and Energy Committee.
The measure would repeal a constitutional requirement that the minimum wage must be adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index.
Nevada’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour for those who work for companies that provide health insurance coverage and $8.25 for those who don’t. The proposed amendment would boost the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reached $12 an hour.
There was opposition to the amendment in committee by groups who complained it would hurt small employers who might have to lay off workers.
There is at least one bill still alive to boost the minimum wage this year.
Gov. Brian Sandoval has opposed any legislation to raise the minimum wage.
The proposed constitutional amendment, if passed, would have to be approved by the 2019 Legislature and then passed by voters in 2020.
The bill now goes to the full Senate.