_____________ bill NO. _____________

INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE; LIMITING COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES UNTIL THE MINIMUM WAGE REACHES $11.39 AN HOUR; REMOVING A $4 MINIMUM WAGE FOR CERTAIN BUSINESSES; AMENDING SECTION 39-3-409, MCA; and PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 39-3-409, MCA, is amended to read:

"39-3-409. Adoption of minimum wage rates -- exception. (1) The minimum wage, except as provided in subsection (3), must be the greater of either:

(a)        the minimum hourly wage rate as provided under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)), excluding the value of tips received by the employee and the special provisions for a training wage; or

(b)        $6.15 $11.39 an hour, excluding the value of tips received by the employee and the special provisions for a training wage.

(2)        (a) The minimum wage is subject to a cost-of-living adjustment, as provided in subsection (2)(b).

(b)        No later than September 30 of each year, an adjustment of the wage amount specified in subsection (1) must be made based upon on the increase, if any, from August of the preceding year to August of the year in which the calculation is made in the consumer price index, U.S. city average, all urban consumers, for all items, as published by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor.

(c)        The wage amount established under this subsection (2):

(i)         must be rounded to the nearest 5 cents; and

(ii)        becomes effective as the new minimum wage, replacing the dollar figure specified in subsection (1), on January 1 of the following year.

(3) The minimum wage rate for a business whose annual gross sales are $110,000 or less is $4 an hour."

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2023.