The Vermont Senate overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage from $10.78 an hour to $12.55 Thursday, sending the measure to the House, where Democratic leaders will have a much harder time reviving the legislation.
With a vote of 24-6, the Democratically controlled Senate swiftly moved to reverse the veto, just three days after Scott announced he killed the bill.
Scott struck down the bill, S.23, because he believes the wage increase would burden small businesses and “end up hurting the very people it aims to help” by leading to lost jobs and higher costs for goods and services.
Before the vote, Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, urged the chamber to support the legislation and “step up for the people who desperately need us to do so.”
“The question before us is simple: should we lift 40,000 hardworking but low paid Vermonters or not?” he said.
Now, the measure goes back to the House where it will be much more difficult for Democratic leaders to muster the two-thirds majority they need to override Scott. Last week, House Democrats struggled, and ultimately failed to override the governor’s veto of a paid family leave program by one vote.
Eight Democrats and two independents opposed the minimum wage bill on the floor last month, largely for similar reasons that the governor killed the legislation.
Like Scott, some Democrats are concerned that a fast-paced wage increase could harm small businesses and put stress on the rural economy.
House Democratic leaders are still counting votes, and could hold the override vote as soon as Wednesday, according to House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington. They would need to gain seven votes to beat the veto and enact the minimum wage increase.
Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint, D-Windham, said she is worried about the fate of the minimum wage bill in the House, after the paid leave override failed.
“Given where we are coming off of the paid family leave, bill I would be silly not to have concerns because it’s a different chamber with different factors in play, a much bigger body to wrangle,” she said.
But Balint added that after having conversations with House leadership, she believes there is “a path” to a successful vote, and she is optimistic that the “strong vote” in the Senate could help convince moderate Democrats to support the override effort.
She also pointed out that all of the women — from moderate to progressive Democrats — in the chamber voted for the bill.
“I feel strongly that part of that is that they know that the majority of minimum wage workers are women,” Balint said.
Some Democrats say they are still unlikely to change their minds in an override scenario. But they note that the fact that the House recently failed on the paid family leave override does change their thinking.
“The governor won one, I’d hate to see the speaker get another black eye,” said Rep. Sam Young, D-Greensboro, who voted against the minimum wage bill. Young noted he was still leaning against supporting the override.
Rep. John Gannon, D-Wilmington, who also voted against the minimum wage legislation, said it would be “challenging” for him to change his vote. But he says the Democrats’ loss on paid family leave last week does “change the calculus” for him.
“I feel pressure because of that, I just feel bad for what happened personally as a Democrat and member of the House caucus,” Gannon said.
Rep. Charlie Kimbell, D-Woodstock, who opposed the bill on the floor, said his opinions on the “merits” of the minimum wage increase haven’t changed.
Whether to rally with the Democratic caucus in an override vote is a “different decision”—one that he hasn’t made yet. But he said he was open to it on Thursday.
“It’s all about team sports,” Kimbell said “This is a team sport environment,”
Rep. Theresa Wood, D-Waterbury, said that she would support the override effort, even though she previously opposed the bill. Her concerns with the bill stem from the impact that raising the minimum wage could have on Medicaid-funded health workers.
Lawmakers have learned that by increasing the wage to $12.55 state would need to pay $4.1 million annually for some health workers at nursing homes, residential care homes, assisted living residences, and adult day agencies to see raises.
But with lawmakers aware of and discussing the issue, she would be able to support the override, she said.
One lawmaker who previously supported the legislation says he’s unsure he will vote to override the veto.
Rep. Chris Bates, D-Bennington, said that after continuing to research the potential impacts of the minimum wage increase, he has newfound reservations. He said he now has concerns about how raising the wage, and increasing workers’ salaries, will mean small businesses could face additional expenses, like higher rates for workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.
“I am not against giving people this increase,” Bates said. “It’s how does the business community recoup the extra costs?”
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said Thursday that her approach to organizing the effort to override the minimum wage veto will not be “vastly different” than last week’s paid leave effort.
“We continue to have conversations with people, and folks understand that just like the two votes for paid family leave there are two votes for minimum wage,” Johnson said.
“One of them is ‘Is this my ideal?’ and the other one is ‘Am I going to stop this from becoming law for tens of thousands of Vermonters that need a small raise?’”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the Senate vote tally for overriding the veto of the minimum wage bill. It was 24-6.