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The Assembly vote signaled its support of raising the wage -- now at $7.25 an hour -- up to $9 an hour.
But will Senate lawmakers even have a chance to vote on the proposal?
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Exclusive WBEN Audio On The WBEN Liveline NYS Sen. Pat Gallivan (R-Elma) |
Republican State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer says he's never been a good forecaster on potential votes, but believes his chamber will take more time in its consideration.
"I think we're going to be much more deliberative than the Assembly was. I really don't think they took a lot of the different factors into consideration. They rushed through this, especially right in the middle of the budget," Ranzenhofer says.
The issues include whether or not the wage should be phased in over a number of years, whether or not there should be a training wage, he added.
The State Assembly debated the issue for about four hours on Tuesday night -- before voting to approve the higher wage.
His colleague, Democrat Tim Kennedy, says his chamber has the votes, but he's just not sure if it'll reach that point.
"Unfortunately, there are some that don't believe that increasing the minimum wage is the right thing to do. They don't believe that individual should make more than $290 a week for working full time," Kennedy says.And if there is a vote in the State Senate, it may not happen until after the state budget is completed, Ranzenhofer says.
Senate Republicans this week proposed a series of tax breaks for employers that would total $2 billion in cuts in the state budget now being negotiated.
Among the proposals being floated by legislative leaders is raising the wage to $8.50, then $8.75, then $9 over two or three years.