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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Prohibit the Minimum Wage from Exceeding the New England Average’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 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 per hour. 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 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¢. Notwithstanding this subsection, the minimum wage may not exceed the average minimum wage paid in the New England states, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor. 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.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, replaces the title and the bill and provides that the minimum wage may not exceed the average minimum wage paid in the New England states, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor.