Bill Text: NH HB1174 | 2014 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Establishing a committee to study the payment of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2014-05-28 - Signed by the Governor on 5/27/2014; Chapter 0050; Effective 5/27/2014 [HB1174 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2014-HB1174-Enrolled.html
HB 1174 – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
6Feb2014… 0260h
2014 SESSION
06/01
HOUSE BILL 1174
AN ACT establishing a committee to study the payment of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities.
SPONSORS: Rep. Muns, Rock 21; Rep. Butler, Carr 7; Rep. Cahill, Rock 17; Rep. Emerick, Rock 21; Sen. Hosmer, Dist 7; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
This bill establishes a committee to identify and recommend changes to New Hampshire laws and rules on the payment of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
6Feb2014… 0260h
14-2010
06/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT establishing a committee to study the payment of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Statement of Purpose. The general court finds that:
I. The state of New Hampshire is committed to ensuring that all workers earn at least the state minimum wage.
II. The state of New Hampshire and all of its state agencies are committed to employment policies that enable persons with disabilities to exercise self-determination, be independent, be productive, and be integrated and included in all facets of community life.
III. Employers should be encouraged to hire qualified workers with disabilities and pay them at least the prevailing wage.
IV. Employment in the general workforce is the first and preferred outcome in the provision of publicly funded services for all working age citizens with disabilities, regardless of level of disability.
2 Payment of Subminimum Wages; Persons with Disabilities; Committee Established; Membership; Compensation.
I. There is established a committee to study and identify New Hampshire laws and rules that permit the payment of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities, and to recommend changing such laws to reflect the contemporary policy and practice of providing wages to individuals with disabilities that are fair and comparable to those wages paid to individuals without disabilities.
II. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Four members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) One member of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
III. The committee may work with and obtain information from the following individuals, state agencies, and organizations, and others as deemed appropriate:
(a) Persons with disabilities.
(b) Employers of persons with disabilities.
(c) Advocates for persons with disabilities.
(d) The department of labor.
(e) The bureau of developmental services, department of health and human services.
(f) The governor’s commission on disability.
(g) The bureau of vocational rehabilitation.
(h) Special educators who specialize in transition.
(i) The New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities.
(j) The Disabilities Rights Center.
(k) The Community Support Network, Inc.
IV. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
3 Duties. The committee shall:
I. Analyze federal laws on wages, including section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
II. Identify specific state statutes and rules that need to be changed to end the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities.
III. Analyze national and state data on the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities. This analysis shall include the employers and provider agencies in New Hampshire that are currently paying subminimum wages and the circumstances under which such wages are being paid.
IV. Analyze the potential impact in New Hampshire of proposed federal legislation to phase out the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities.
V. Analyze the economic advantages and disadvantages to employers of phasing out the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities in New Hampshire.
VI. Analyze whether public funds are being used in New Hampshire to directly or indirectly support paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities, and recommend a policy to end such practices.
VII. Develop a strategic plan to be used by employers and provider agencies to effectively phase out the payment of subminimum wages that includes a timeline, mechanisms to provide technical assistance and training to employers and provider agencies as they phase out subminimum wage arrangements, and access to employment services for individuals with disabilities as they are phased out of subminimum wage arrangements.
4 Chairperson; Quorum. The first-named house member shall be the committee chairperson. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the committee chairperson. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
5 Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2014.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
