Louisiana minimum-wage hike advances
BATON ROUGE — Senators seeking to boost Louisiana’s minimum wage are making another push this legislative season for the proposal, which is championed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
The Senate labor committee voted 4-2 Wednesday to advance the wage hike to the full Senate. The proposal made it that far last year before fizzling after being diverted to a second committee tasked with reviewing how raising some state workers’ pay would impact the budget.
It’s unclear whether new support has built for the effort. The vote in the Senate labor committee split along party lines, with Democrats supporting the wage hike and Republicans opposing it. That could forecast trouble in the majority-GOP Senate.
Supporters say a pay hike will help boost people out of poverty and keep working people from relying on government-financed programs such as food stamps and Medicaid. Bill sponsor Sen. Troy Carter noted the most recent federal minimum-wage increase was in 2009, “but the cost of goods continues to increase.”
Read more: http://www.houmatoday.com/news/20170517/la-minimum-wage-hike-advances