RI Senate OKs Bill To Raise Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour By 2025

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. The stepped plan would increase the rate by about $1 per year.

Sen. Ana Quezada, the bill's sponsor, said it goes "a long way toward breaking the cycle of poverty that has ensnared so many of Rhode Island’s families."

"A living wage will not only help people who work full time from living in poverty, it will also ease the demand on public assistance and bolster the state’s economy by ensuring that families have the income required to meet their basic needs," Quezada said.

The legislation proposes gradual increases to the minimum wage each year, starting this October. The schedule is listed below.

• Oct. 1, 2021: $12.25
• Oct. 1, 2022: $13
• Oct. 1, 2023: $14
• Oct. 1, 2024: $15

Rhode Island's minimum wage has been $11.50 since last October, when a $1-per-hour increase went into effect. Here's a look at how the state measures up to the rest of New England when it comes.

• Massachusetts: $13.50, stepped plan to reach $15 by Jan. 1, 2023
• Connecticut: $12, with a stepped plan to reach $15 by June 1, 2023
• Vermont: $11.75
• New Hampshire: $7.25
• Maine: $11

The bill now moves to the Rhode Island House of Representatives for consideration.