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New Jersey Lawmakers Consider Minimum Wage Increase

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) – New Jersey lawmakers are set to consider a bill that would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The Assembly's labor committee will hold a hearing Thursday in Trenton.

If enacted, the current minimum of $8.85 would be raised to $10 by July and then go up by a dollar a year until 2024.

MORE: Murphy's State Of The State Touts Progress In New Jersey, Residents Say It's Not Enough

But the bill, which has the support of Gov. Phil Murphy, does not provide an across-the-board increase. For example, farm workers' wages would only increase to $12.50 an hour by 2024.

"Let's start 2019 by finishing what we began in 2018 -- putting the minimum wage on a clear and responsible path to $15 an hour and legalizing adult-use marijuana," Murphy said during his State of the State address last week.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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