Democratic lawmakers have proposed replacing Maine’s statewide minimum wage with a regionally based structure tied to an assessment of the living wage for the area of the state where one is based.

Under this legislation, Maine would be divided into three regions: coastal, northern, and Portland metropolitan.

Each of these sub-divisions would be subject to a different minimum wage as determined by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Living Wage Calculator.

These new wages requirements would take effect on January 1, 2026. Beginning the following year, the minimum wage in each region would be indexed to the cost of living, as is currently the case for the statewide minimum wage.

According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a “living wage” is defined as the amount of income needed for a full-time worker to cover the “costs of their family’s basic needs where they live while still being self-sufficient.”

LD 853 — which seeks to establish a regionally based living wage in Maine — was sponsored by Rep. Valli D. Geiger (D-Rockland).

Cosponsoring this bill are Rep. Matthew D. Beck (D-South Portland), Rep. Rafael Leo Macias (D-Topsham), Rep. Amy J. Roeder (D-Bangor), Rep. Sophia B. Warren (D-Scarborough), and Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot).

“We’re in what I would call a terminal swirl for Maine. We are the oldest state in the country, we are in desperate need for labor and we cannot get labor, because we cannot pay them enough for them to afford rising housing costs,” Rep. Geiger (D-Rockland) told WGME. “The average worker is eligible for food assistance or rental assistance for heat. There is something wrong with the way our economy is working.”

Opponents of increasing the minimum wage — however it is calculated — often cite concerns over the impact that such policies can be expected to have on businesses and consumers with forced layoffs and higher prices.

A public hearing has not yet been scheduled for LD 853, although it is expected that one will take place at some point in the coming weeks.

Click Here for More Information on LD 853

This legislation is not the only bill related to the minimum wage to have been introduced so far this year.

A group of Republican lawmakers proposed doing away with the cost-of-living adjustment for the state’s minimum wage.

Under the bill, the state minimum wage would be set at $14.65 per hour and all references to cost-of-living increases going forward would be removed.

The most recent cost-of-living increase went into effect on January 1 of this year, bringing it up to the $14.65 per hour that would be codified under the proposed legislation.

A public hearing is not yet on the books for this legislation.

Another Republican-led bill would institute a “student wage” in Maine, allowing employers to pay some high school students a lower rate than is currently mandated by state law.

Under this legislation, students could be paid at a rate half that of the current state minimum wage — or $7.33 an hour — for at least two years while they are in high school.

Once students graduate from high school — regardless of how long they have been employed — they must be paid Maine’s standard minimum wage of $14.65 an hour.

A public hearing will be held for this bill, LD 112, on Tuesday, March 18 at 1pm in Room 202 of the Cross Building, located directly across from the State House in Augusta.

Testimony can be submitted online at www.mainelegislature.org/testimony.