# Maine LD 589: An Act to Establish a State Minimum Hourly Wage for Agricultural Workers Maine LD 589, An Act to Establish a State Minimum Hourly Wage for Agricultural Workers, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Rachel Talbot Ross (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-06-10 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 232); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD589-132 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 589 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act to Establish a State Minimum Hourly Wage for Agricultural Workers - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-19 - Last action: 2025-06-10, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 232 - Sponsor: Rachel Talbot Ross (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 9 - Subjects: COMPENSATION, COMPENSATION - WAGES - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (170 yes, 157 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - New minimum wage for farmworkers: benefit, high. Beginning January 1, 2026, agricultural employees must be paid at least $14.65 per hour. On January 1, 2027 and every January 1 after, the wage rises by the CPI‑W (Northeast) August‑over‑August percent, rounded to the nearest $0.05. The first adjustment uses August 2025 over August 2024. If the hig… - Stronger enforcement of farmworker pay: benefit, medium. Workers can recover unpaid minimum wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages, and also get court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. After a written complaint, the Labor Department can inspect and copy payroll records, and keeps that information confidential. The Labor Department has exclu… - Clear pay slips and fee‑free pay: benefit, low. Employers must keep true records of hours and wages for at least 3 years. Each payday, workers get a statement with the pay‑period dates, hours, total pay, and deductions. If pay is sent by direct deposit, card, or another electronic transfer, workers can withdraw their full net pay once without a… - Live‑in family members not covered: cost, low. This law does not cover members of an employer’s family who live with and depend on the employer. These family members do not get the farmworker minimum wage protections. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Rachel Talbot Ross (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Amy Roeder (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Craig V. Hickman (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Chip Curry (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Peggy R. Rotundo (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Matthea E. L. Daughtry (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Mike Tipping (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Richard A. Bennett (Independent), Senate - Cosponsor: Ryan Fecteau (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Traci Gere (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-06-03 | House | ACC MAJ OTP AS AMENDED REP | pass | 74 | 72 | | | 2025-06-03 | House | Enactment | pass | 74 | 73 | | | 2025-06-02 | Senate | ACCEPT MAJORITY OUGHT TO PASS AS AMENDED REPORT | pass | 22 | 12 | | ## Actions (8) - 2025-06-10: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 232 - 2025-06-03: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-06-03: RELEASED.Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-06-03: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. ROLL CALL NO. 292(Yeas 74 - Nays 73 - Absent 4 - Excused 0)HELD. (House) - 2025-06-03: Reports READ.On motion of Representative ROEDER of Bangor, the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report was ACCEPTED.ROLL CALL NO. 290(Yeas 74 - Nays 72 - Absent 5 - Excused 0)The Bill was READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (S-196) was READ and ADOPTED.Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-196). In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-06-02: Reports READ On motion by Senator TIPPING of Penobscot The Majority Ought to Pass As Amended Report ACCEPTED. PREVAILED Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 289 Yeas 22 - Nays 12 - Excused 1 - Absent 0 Bill READ ONCE Committee Amendment "A" (S-196) READ and ADOPTED Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED by Committee Amendment "A" (S-196) Sent down for concurrence (Senate) - 2025-03-21: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519. (Senate) - 2025-02-19: Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 19, 2025 and REFERRED to the Committee on LABOR pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 (Senate) ## Bill text - Amendment C-A (S-196), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0273&item=2&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0273&item=3&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0273&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment C-A (S-196), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0273&item=2&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0273&item=3&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0273&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD589-132 (as of 2026-10-17).