Senate President Ben Albritton said a controversial bill that sought to pay some workers below the minimum wage is dead.
“To tell you the truth, I think if somebody works, whether they’re being an apprentice or whatever, minimum wage is actually in the Constitution for a reason,” Albritton told reporters.
“Does that mean it’s dead?” a reporter asked Albritton about the bill.
“I would expect so,” the Senate President said in the final days of Session.
SB 676/HB 541 would have allowed workers to voluntarily opt in and receive pay below the minimum wage if they are in a work-study, internship, or apprenticeship.
The Senate President spoke on Thursday, days after Sen. Jonathan Martin announced he was temporarily postponing his SB 676 to “keep HB 541 alive” in some of the last-minute committee maneuverings this Session.
Martin’s TP came after the Senate Rules Committee started debating the bill and members of the public had already spoken out against it.
Democrats and the Florida AFL-CIO expressed concerns that employers would exploit the system and try to save costs by reclassifying jobs as internships. They also argued that Martin was going against the will of the voters, who had approved a state minimum wage increase.
“Are you asking us today, here and now, to supersede what the voters of this state have already identified as to what they want?” Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis asked Martin during Tuesday’s debate.
Meanwhile, Republicans countered that there needs to be reform so that people can gain skills while being paid less, which could pay off in the long run for their careers. In Committee, some Republicans brought up horse training as one profession that fit the bill’s intent.
“I see it providing opportunities that don’t currently exist under this economic and educational framework that we have,” said Martin, a Fort Myers Republican, on Tuesday, shortly before he tabled the bill.
The House version of the bill passed through the Committee process and was added to the second reading calendar, but no vote has been scheduled for the House floor.
–Gabrielle Russon, Florida Politics
Deborah Coffey says
ONLY today’s elected Republicans would even think of a bill like this while favoring trillions in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Dear real Republicans, WTF has happened to your party?
JimboXYZ says
Has FL gotten to a $ 15/hour min wage even ? I recall it eventually becoming that by 2026 for non-tipped labor. Amazing, labor can’t raise it’s wages like eggs, gasoline or rent ? Imagine always being behind the inflation & chasing that ? Oh wait, that’s the Capitalist model that we already have & operate in ? Get gouged since 2021 (5 years) before it happen and then pull the rug out from under labor’s feet ? I’d accuse Buden-Harris of that, but it’s been that way over my working life, but inflation wasn’t nearly this bad. All of this is economic genius from the self proclaimed experts, the Ivy Leaguers of overpaid windbags/carpetbaggers.
FLF says
50 years ago, when I started working at 15 years old, after school and on Saturday when I could get the extra time, I worked for minimum wage, I think it was around $1.75-$2.30, something like that. I was living at home, I got my first savings account, remember the pass books that they stamped at the bank when you made your deposit or took a little money out? I learned to cherish that little account, always put more in than I took out. My parents encouraged me to save and think about what you’re spending your money on and what it took to make it back. My dad would front me a little cash sometimes to get by 5 or 10 bucks, always promising to take it out of my savings which he never did. They were teaching me a lesson, it worked. I also quickly started to realize that I was not making enough money to suit my needs in life and started to climb the ladder of wealth accumulation by getting smarter, doing more and saving more. I jumped at opportunities that yielded more wealth accumulation and so on. Now I’m ready to retire, getting ready to not work at a career anymore, we did it! The best lesson I ever learned was starting at minimum wage, no way you could ever afford to live on it, buy much without saving it, getting married and having a family, buy a house, a car, a boat, or cats and dogs even. So now we’re raising the minimum wage with what expectation? When did we decide that minimum wage is a living wage? Why? It never was 50 years ago and it isn’t now. When we were making $2.00 per hour, everything was just as expensive then as it is today. Just sayin…
Deborah Coffey says
Economics 101 is offered at the Daytona State campus in Palm Coast. Some of those commenting here might want to audit the course.