At the Roundhouse: Behind that minimum wage vote

At first glance, the most surprising thing about the Senate vote to increase the state minimum wage was that not a single Democrat voted against it.

Ordinarily, you would think, there would be regional and philosophical breakdowns in the Senate, even within the Democratic ranks.

New Mexico lawmakers from rural areas and the southern part of the state often are more conservative than their counterparts in the more urban areas along the Rio Grande corridor. Many lawmakers also have associations with small businesses.

But, on Monday, the Senate’s 25 Democrats lined up against the chamber’s 17 Republicans to send the House a bill to increase the minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50 an hour.

The Senate majority whip, Tim Keller of Albuquerque, said the “stirring debate” helped the bill’s passage. But he also acknowledged two big amendments probably also were key to Senate adoption.

Those amendments were to exempt businesses employing fewer than 11 people and to allow employers to pay a lower, $7.50 an hour “training wage” during a worker’s first year on the job.

Estimates of how many New Mexico businesses would be exempted from the minimum wage hike under the 11-employee threshold ranged from 50 to 75 percent.

That threshold and the “training wage” no doubt softened the bill’s proposition for more conservative-leaning and employer-oriented Democrats.

Meanwhile, for members who never had any question about the need to increase the minimum wage, a big factor was what Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, and others called New Mexico’s “income inequality.”

Rep. Ed Sandoval, D-Albuquerque, discussed “income inequality”in a January op-ed column in the Journal.

“The richest 5 percent of families have average incomes over $273,000 — that’s nearly 17 times as much as the poorest 20 percent of families, who have average incomes of only $16,300,” Sandoval wrote.

I don’t know if floor debate on the bill affected any votes Monday, as Keller suggested, but it certainly got emotional.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, delivered an impassioned speech about the “moral responsibility” of New Mexico leaders.

Sen. Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants, choked up as he recalled his father’s efforts to support his family.

On the Republican side, Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Albuquerque, and others said a minimum wage increase, while seemingly well-intended, would backfire on businesses and workers — inhibiting hiring and increasing consumer prices.

No one seemed to doubt that the minimum wage hike also will pass the House.

But Republicans might be comforted by an assumption that it would be vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez.