AUGUSTA – A special state commission charged with analyzing Maine salaries may choose to support a bill crafted to raise the state’s minimum wage to $7 per hour.

State Rep. Arthur L. Lerman, D-Augusta and chairman of the Study Commission Regarding Livable Wages, said Wednesday his panel may go on record in support of the increase as part of its overall recommendations that will be delivered during the next legislative session that begins next month.

“I suspect that increasing the minimum wage will be one of the things that we will want to look at as we develop our recommendations,” Lerman said. “I don’t believe increasing the minimum wage will diminish Maine’s capacity to attract new business. I think that’s a myth. Most places pay wages that are over and above minimum wage at this point. So it’s only on the fringes where jobs pay the minimum.”

Last Friday, the Legislature’s Labor Committee voted 7-5 in favor of a bill that would increase Maine’s minimum wage from the current $6.50 to $7 over two years. Under LD 235, sponsored by Rep. John L. Tuttle Jr., D-Sanford, Maine’s minimum wage would increase in two phases if the Legislature and Gov. John Baldacci approves the measure. The first 25-cent increase would take place Oct. 1, 2006, and the second would follow on Oct. 1, 2007.

Baldacci has already indicated he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk, according to a spokeswoman for his office. The bill’s supporters couldn’t be happier.

“I received word from a number of my constituents who asked me to put this [bill] in,” Tuttle said. “I was proud to do it and am very pleased with the committee vote.”

“Incomes in Maine are below what they need to be,” said Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, who is the Senate chairman of the Labor Committee. “The Labor Committee’s vote reflects our desire to push those wages to a livable level. I am ready to fight for the working people of Maine to see that this increase passes this session.”

A carry-over bill from earlier this year, LD 235 is likely to face considerable opposition from the business sector which sees the proposal as one more reason for critics to portray Maine as an anti-business state. Peter Gore, a lobbyist for the Maine Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Study Commission Regarding Livable Wages, said Wednesday that raising the minimum wage was “not a leading priority” for the state’s business community.

“The minimum wage as an issue of public policy did not rank high in our 2005 survey,” Gore said. “Health care was number one, and number two was the overall cost of doing business in this state, and number three was the condition of the business climate. You can’t look at raising the minimum wage in a vacuum. It would contribute to the higher cost of doing business in Maine. … If [the bill] was approved, we would have a minimum wage that would ultimately be $1.85 higher than the federally required minimum.”

Lerman disagreed, saying the 50-cent increase would be helpful to a certain segment of Maine residents.

“I think people in this state recognize that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet,” he said. “Just look at the increases in gasoline and heating oil and you’ll know that the minimum wage hasn’t kept up with what it takes to be able to support your family.”