AUGUSTA – An absence of Republicans during a crucial House vote gave Democrats the smallest of all possible margins Monday to preserve a bill boosting the state’s minimum wage to $7 per hour in 2007.

After the 72-71 House vote, LD 235 now goes back to the Maine Senate, where it will receive a final vote. The bill will have to return to the House for one more vote and stands a good chance of making it to the governor’s desk – provided House attendance and last-minute amendment attempts don’t get in the way.

At the moment, the House stands at 74 Democrats, 73 Republicans, 1 Green Independent Party member and three independents. Democrats technically hold a plurality in the House, lacking the two members needed for an undisputed majority. During Monday’s vote, eight House members were absent: two Democrats and six Republicans. One unenrolled member voted against raising the minimum wage, as did three Democrats. Rep. Kevin Glynn of South Portland was the sole GOP lawmaker to vote in favor of the measure.

Last week, the House voted 74-66 in favor of an amended version of the bill that reduced the increase and delayed its implementation. Sponsored by Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, the amendment would let the current $6.50 per hour wage stand until Oct. 1, 2007, when it would increase to $6.75.

The original legislation calls for increasing the per-hour wage to $6.75 this October and to $7 per hour a year later. The Senate, which narrowly approved that version in 19-16 and 18-16 party-line votes, rejected the amended bill Friday when it arrived from the House.

The lack of agreement forced an additional vote in the House Monday to determine whether the members wanted to stand by their amended bill or capitulate to the Senate, where 19 Democratic lawmakers can guarantee the bill’s enactment.

House activity on LD 235 consumed most of the morning session and part of the afternoon, when one lawmaker offered an amendment to increase the minimum wage to $7.25, others argued in support of the amended version of the bill and still others became bogged down in legislative procedure concerning the posture of the bill.

The proposed amendments were defeated in lopsided 107-34 votes, allowing House members to move forward with a vote to support the original version of the bill backed by the Senate.

“I strongly support the concurrence [with the Senate] motion,” said Rep. Sean Faircloth, D-Bangor. “I think we need to support a solid increase in the minimum wage because it’s good economics and good for business.”

Faircloth went on to cite a study by the Economic Policy Institute that he said drew direct correlations between a higher than average minimum wage and increased business development, jobs and higher payrolls.

“Whatever the perception might be, the economic reality was that those states that increased their minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage did better,” he said.

House GOP leader David Bowles found it “intriguing” that the implication of Faircloth’s argument seemed to be that Maine’s economy would improve if the state simply raised the salaries of its lowest-paid workers.

“Given the fact that Maine has raised its minimum wage each year for the last five years, that our minimum wage is currently $1.35 above the federal minimum wage and that Maine experienced a net loss of 600 jobs in 2005, one would wonder how it could possibly be true that raising the minimum wage again is going to improve our economy,” Bowles said.

Gov. John Baldacci spoke in favor of increasing the minimum wage during his State of the State address and has pledged to sign the bill.