AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – State lawmakers on Monday will resume a hearing on a proposal to increase Maine’s minimum wage, which just rose to $7 an hour in October.

A proposal before the Labor Committee seeks to ratchet the minimum up to $7.70 an hour in 2008 and $8.40 in 2009. After that, the minimum wage would be adjusted yearly based on the Consumer Price Index.

The Maine proposal comes up as the federal minimum is scheduled to rise to $7.25 an hour by 2009. The current federal minimum of $5.85 is superseded in Maine, which is among more than two dozen states and the District of Columbia whose minimum wages are higher than the federal level.

The Labor Committee earlier this year delayed action on minimum wage bills after a contentious public hearing. The committee decided to give citizens a second chance to give their views on the issue, which divides advocates for low-wage workers and business owners.

“A lot of workers who make low wages are for it, and the business community says it’s not going to be a good thing for the economy,” said Rep. John Tuttle, D-Sanford, House chairman of the committee. “We want to make sure we have enough public input on the issue.”

Tuttle added that he supports linking future wage changes to the CPI, but he would also want to have voters decide whether to support it, as has been done in other states.

On Oct. 1, Maine’s minimum wage increased from $6.75 to $7 an hour. The state Department of Labor said about 26,000 people earn the minimum wage in Maine. Some jobs are exempted from the minimum wage, such as farm workers, service employees who receive tips, domestic workers, taxi drivers and camp counselors.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/

AP-ES-11-24-07 0913EST

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