State Senate President Therese Murray told the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Thursday that the time has come for a “serious conversation” about Massachusetts’ minimum wage.
“An adult earning minimum wage in Massachusetts earns $16,704 annually, which is under the federal poverty level of $19,090,” Murray said. “Let’s start this conversation today.”
In her speech, Murray, a Plymouth Democrat, pointed to states such as Maine and New York, which recently raised their minimum wage to $9 an hour, as examples.
Massachusetts raised its minimum wage from $6.75 to $8 per hour between 2006 and 2008, putting it 75 cents above the federal minimum. The state currently has the eighth-highest minimum wage in the country, tied with California.
Murray’s call comes as the Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick continue to haggle over potential new taxes to fund the state’s public transportation system. On Monday, the House passed a $500 million finance bill that includes, among other things, a 3-cent increase in the state’s gasoline tax and a $1 tax increase on cigarettes.
A representative from her office could not say whether Murray personally supports raising the minimum wage. Murray’s call for a conversation to start was nothing more than that, the representative said.
Currently, the only existing legislation proposing to raise the minimum wage is a bill authored by Democratic Sen. Marc R. Pacheco of Taunton. It would raise the state’s minimum wage to $11 per hour over three years.
Peter Forman, president and CEO of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, said business leaders consider an attempt to raise the minimum wage “counterproductive.”
“The business community typically sees increases in minimum wage as hurting entry-level job creation, particularly youth employment,” Forman said. “In the past, nobody has found it to be supportive of real economic growth.”
Daniel Schneider may be reached at dschneider@ledger.com.
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