Mo. House overturns voter-approved minimum wage law

By a near party-line vote, Missouri's House voted Tuesday [March 1] to put a cap on the minimum wage law that Missouri voters approved five years ago. Most of the House Republicans voted in support of the change, not one Democrat voted to approve the measure. In 2006, 76 percent of Missouri voters approved a measure to raise minimum wage and tie it to the inflation rate. The House-passed bill would prohibit Missouri's minimum wage from exceeding the federal level. Both are currently set at $7.25, but because Missouri uses the consumer price index to set its minimum wage, the state's level could increase past the federal level if the cost of living increases. Rep. Sylvester Taylor, D-St. Louis County, said employees will be at a disadvantage if the measure passes. "If you don't take care of your workers, what message are you sending to your workforce?" Taylor said. Republicans, including the bill's sponsor, Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, said lowering minimum wage would create jobs. By eliminating the inflationary increases, businesses wouldn't need to pay higher labor costs and could maintain jobs for low-skilled workers, he said. "Those of you who are voting on this bill, go home this weekend, go to your small businesses, look them in the eye and ask yourself, 'Can I tell them how I voted on this bill? Can I tell them that I am standing with them to create jobs?'" Nolte said during House debate. Allowing Missouri's minimum wage to increase above the federal rate and that of surrounding states would make doing business in Missouri less attractive for employers, said Republican Floor Leader Tim Jones, R-St. Louis County. "None of the bordering states which we compete economically with and competitively with have this (inflation rate) provision," he said. "It is an anomaly." All 57 House Democrats joined with four Republicans to vote against the bill. They said lowering the minimum wage would cost Missouri thousands of jobs and hurt families that live below the poverty level. Rep. Mike Colona, D-St Louis, said Republicans don't care about the voice of the people. "House Republicans today told the people of Missouri that their opinion as expressed at the ballot box doesn't matter," Colona said. The minimum wage issue is one of three proposals pushed by Republicans in the legislature to change proposals approved by Missouri voters. Legislation to repeal restrictions on dog breeders, which voters approved last fall, has advanced in the legislature. Lawmakers also have proposed a plan to force Missourians to foot the bill for AmerenUE to pursue a permit to build a second nuclear reactor in the state. "Some things are passed by the voters and I think we should respect that," said House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville. "But if there's unintended consequences that we feel like the residents in our district didn't understand or didn't realize were going to occur, we have an obligation as their representative to fix it."