Friday, February 16, 2007
Minimum Wage Bill Clears House Panel
Kentucky's lowest-wage workers would get a pay raise under a bill approved by a House panel on Thursday that would raise the state minimum wage.
The version that cleared the Labor and Industry Committee on a 14-2 vote was stripped of a couple of provisions backed by labor advocates.
Under the revised bill, Kentucky's minimum wage would increase from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 at the time the legislation took effect. The minimum wage would go to $6.55 an hour beginning July 1, 2008, and to $7.25 an hour the following July 1.
Committee chairman J.R. Gray, D-Benton, said that version mirrors the federal minimum-wage boost currently being considered in Congress.
Gray said he favored the original proposal, but accepted the stripped-down version to try to improve its chances of passing the General Assembly.
Kentucky's minimum wage has been at $5.15 an hour since 1997.
The version that cleared the Labor and Industry Committee on a 14-2 vote was stripped of a couple of provisions backed by labor advocates.
Under the revised bill, Kentucky's minimum wage would increase from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 at the time the legislation took effect. The minimum wage would go to $6.55 an hour beginning July 1, 2008, and to $7.25 an hour the following July 1.
Committee chairman J.R. Gray, D-Benton, said that version mirrors the federal minimum-wage boost currently being considered in Congress.
Gray said he favored the original proposal, but accepted the stripped-down version to try to improve its chances of passing the General Assembly.
Kentucky's minimum wage has been at $5.15 an hour since 1997.
# posted by Justin Mullins @ 12:39 AM 
