Requires the commissioner of labor to prepare an annual report on the cost of living, poverty rates and adequacy of the current minimum wage in the state.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6938
SPONSOR: Burgos TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring the commissioner
of labor to prepare an annual report on the cost of living, poverty
rates and adequacy of the current minimum wage in the state
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require the Commissioner of the Department of Labor to prepare an
annual report on the state's cost of living, poverty rates, and the
adequacy of the current minimum wage.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1. Section 21 of the labor law is
amended by adding a new subdivision 16. This addition mandates the
Department of Labor shall produce a report to analyze the change in
living costs, changes in poverty and child poverty for households that
include one or more workers, and the adequacy of the minimum wage. The
report shall also compare the current and projected future value of the
state's various region-based minimum wage levels with the minimum wages
in other high-cost states. This report shall be produced annually by the
13th of September and distributed to the governor, the temporary presi-
dent of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairs of the
labor committees.
Section 2. The act shall take effect immediately.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Click here to enter text.
JUSTIFICATION:
In New York State, roughly one million workers--16.4% of New York
State's workforce- earn the minimum wage. The State has an obligation to
ensure the legislature has access to accurate data on the cost of living
and the adequacy of the current minimum wage.
Historically, yearly gains in inflation have decreased the value of the
minimum wage, chipping away at workers' purchasing power and leading to
hardship for many. Each year that inflation increases and wages at the
bottom do not, workers in the lowest-paying positions struggle to pay
bills, feed their families, and access transportation. Across the state,
minimum wage workers are disproportionately women and people of color,
groups that also face significant barriers to advancement.
This bill mandates the Department of Labor, by September 13th, to
prepare and submit an annual report on the cost of living, poverty
rates, and minimum wage. The cost of living shall be measured and
analyzed using various available cost of living measures, and the data
will be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability
status, household size, and education level for each of four regions of
the state.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6938
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BURGOS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring the commissioner
of labor to prepare an annual report on the cost of living, poverty
rates and adequacy of the current minimum wage in the state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 21 of the labor law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 16 to read as follows:
3 16. Shall prepare and submit to the governor, the temporary president
4 of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of the senate
5 and assembly committees on labor on or before the thirtieth day of
6 September an annual report on the state's cost of living, poverty rates,
7 and the adequacy of the current minimum wage. The report shall analyze
8 the change in living costs using the various available and widely
9 consulted cost of living measures, including but not limited to the MIT
10 living wage calculator, the EPI family budget calculator, and the
11 University of Washington self-sufficiency standard. The report shall
12 also analyze changes in poverty and child poverty for households that
13 include one or more workers, using American Community Survey data for
14 the latest available year. Such analysis shall examine changes in the
15 specified measures for each year since December thirty-first, two thou-
16 sand eighteen, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability
17 status, household size, profession and education level for each of four
18 regions of the state, which shall be defined as: the city of New York;
19 the suburban counties of Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau; the Hudson
20 Valley counties of Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Ulster, Greene, Dutchess,
21 Columbia, Albany, and Rensselaer; and the counties of the remainder of
22 the state. The report shall also compare the current and projected
23 future value of the state's upstate minimum wage with the minimum wages
24 in other high-cost states, including but not limited to Washington,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11116-02-3
A. 6938 2
1 California and Hawaii, and compare the current and projected future
2 value of the state's minimum wage in the city of New York, and the coun-
3 ties of Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk with the minimum wages in other
4 high-cost cities, including but not limited to Seattle, San Francisco,
5 Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Denver. The commissioner may include
6 in the report such other analysis as they find useful in assessing the
7 adequacy of the state's minimum wage. In preparing the report and deter-
8 mining its methodology, the commissioner shall consult with a three-per-
9 son advisory committee, the members of which shall consist of one
10 appointee each by the governor, the temporary president of the senate,
11 and the speaker of the assembly.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
