All of Idaho’s neighboring states, except Utah and Wyoming, have higher minimum wages, Marv Hagedorn, director of the Division of Veterans Services, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee Jan. 10. Certified nursing assistants at the state’s three veterans homes currently make an average of $13.48 per hour, while neighboring Washington increased minimum wage Jan. 1 to $13.50.
“We’ve got a huge deficit of nurses in Idaho right now and it’s going to cost all of us,” Mr. Hagedorn said.
For next year’s budget, Mr. Hagedorn requested $155,300 for a “compensation market alignment”; $241,000 to reclassify nursing positions from licensed practical nurse to registered nurse; $1.3 million for additional staffing; and $50,000 to start a student loan repayment program for RNs.
Republican Gov. Brad Little supported the request, with minor adjustments to some of the numbers.
Twenty-one states increased minimum wage rates at the start of the new year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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