A bill to increase minimum wage lacks enough votes to pass.
Louisiana’s last attempt at raising the minimum wage hike has likely failed, according to The News Star.
Sen. Troy Carter, who proposed SB 155, conceded he does not have the votes to pass his bill. Senate Bill 155 would allow voters to decide whether the state should establish a minimum wage higher than the federal requirement, making it a constitutional amendment.
For this reason, the bill needs a two-thirds approval in the Senate, or 26 votes. The amendment would set the state’s minimum wage at $9 an hour.
NFIB State Director Dawn Starns said she doesn’t believe it’s appropriate for a minimum wage to be in the Louisiana Constitution. Other small business advocates have spoken out against the hike as well, citing the state’s economy as being too weak to support the change.
However, Gov. John Bel Edwards has made raising the state’s minimum wage one of his top priorities, though it has failed multiple times in the legislature. The House labor committee has also killed a separate bill that would have given municipalities the ability to set their own minimum wage.
