Minimum wage

Kansas might finally up its mim. wage for those who fall through the federal min. wage laws. As for our local reps. Ed Trimmer voted for it, Kasha Kelley voted against it.

Here's Associated Press story.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill raising Kansas' lowest-in-the-nation minimum wage won House approval Wednesday, moving Democrats, labor unions and anti-poverty advocates closer to a long-standing goal.
The vote was 104-21. The Senate passed the measure last month but must consider changes made by the House before the bill can go to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who supports it.
The Kansas minimum wage is now $2.65 an hour, and the legislation would raise it to $7.25 an hour next January.
An estimated 17,000 to 20,000 workers are covered by the Kansas minimum wage. Most of Kansas' 1.4 million workers are covered by the federal minimum wage, which is increasing in July to $7.25 an hour from the current $6.55.
"The minimum wage is fundamental respect for people who go to work every day," said Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat. "These are the people who have two jobs. These are the single moms. These are people who struggle to hold their heads above water."
The House added provisions allowing employers to pay workers who are less than 20 years old just $4.25 an hour for their first 90 days on the job and to automatically raise the state's wage whenever the federal government increases its figure.
Forty-five states have a minimum wage, but only six, including Kansas, set it below the federal rate, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Twenty-seven states set their wages higher than the federal rate; in 12 states, the figure mirrors the federal one.
Democrats and their allies have been pushing to raise Kansas' minimum wage for two decades, arguing it's an embarrassment. But business groups and many Republicans, who have consistently held legislative majorities, have opposed the idea.
Groups such as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business argue that increasing the wage only raises employers' costs, causing them to cut low-wage, entry-level jobs.
Republican Rep. Mike Kiegerl of Olathe, a businessman who taught economics at four area colleges, cited a 2005 federal study showing more than 600,000 job lost in the U.S. from a 1990s wage increase.
"Minimum wage legislation is a bad idea. It is bad economics," Kiegerl said. "You have less opportunity for an entry-level job. Is that the message you want to send?"
But this year, some Republicans in both chambers decided to stop fighting the issue, saying it's only symbolic anyway.
The state law applies only to companies that have less than $500,000 a year in annual revenue and don't engage in interstate commerce.
Some Republicans argue a business falls under the federal law by engaging in interstate commerce if it accepts credit cards or buys out-of-state supplies. They questioned whether any workers fall under the Kansas law, whatever the state's estimates.
They also acknowledged increasing the minimum wage has popular appeal, especially with unions and anti-poverty groups pushing it.
"To be bluntly honest with you, the will of the people in the communities we represent, they said we need to bring this forward," said Rep. John Grange, an El Dorado Republican. "We need to take it up."