Some minimum wage legislation and initiatives in states around the nation:
—Alabama: Proposed constitutional amendment would raise minimum wage by steps to $9.80 on Jan. 1, 2016. Voters would also have to approve the measure.
—Alaska: Supporters of an effort to raise the minimum wage turned in signatures with hopes of getting the issue on the August ballot.
—Arkansas: Supporters hope to gather enough signatures for a ballot proposal in November that would raise the minimum wage by steps to $8.50 per hour by 2017.
—Delaware: A bill would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25, in two 50-cent increments.
—Florida: Bills would raise the rate to $10.10.
—Georgia: Two bills sponsored by House Democrats would raise the minimum wage.
—Hawaii: Lawmakers have filed paperwork on bill to raise the minimum wage.
—Idaho: An effort is underway to get a minimum wage hike on next November’s ballot. The initiative would hike the lowest legal pay in Idaho to $9.80 an hour by 2017.
—Illinois: Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn wants to raise the rate from $8.25 to at least $10.
—Indiana: A Democrat-backed bill to increase Indiana’s minimum wage by $1 was blocked by majority Republicans on a party-line vote.
—Iowa: Bill would hike the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour up to $10.10.
—Kentucky: Bill would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour over three years.
—Louisiana: Louisiana’s legislative session begins in March, and a Democratic lawmaker has said he intends to introduce wage legislation.
—Maryland: Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley is backing an increase of $10.10 an hour by 2016.
—Massachusetts: The state Senate approved an increase in the minimum wage from $8 to $11 over three years. The House hasn’t taken up the measure. The issue could also land on the ballot this year.
—Michigan: Bills introduced in 2013 would raise the minimum wage from $7.40 to $10 an hour over three years. Michigan has two-year legislative sessions.
—Minnesota: Democratic backers have been holding hearings around the state and hope to win passage of a wage bill within weeks of the Legislature’s session opening in late February.
—Missouri: Four bills seek to raise the minimum wage, either to $8.25, $9, $10 or $10.25. Advocacy groups also have filed four versions of a proposed ballot initiative seeking to raise the minimum wage.
—Nebraska: A group of lawmakers is pushing for a minimum-wage increase to $9 per hour, phased in over three years.
—New Hampshire: Democrats who control the House are pushing a minimum wage increase.
—New Mexico: A proposed constitutional amendment introduced in the Senate would automatically increase the state’s minimum wage each year to adjust it for inflation. If approved by lawmakers, the measure would be placed on the November ballot.
—New York: Bill would accelerate the state’s scheduled minimum wage increase to $9 by 2015 and tie it to the inflation rate.
—Pennsylvania: At least half a dozen bills would raise the state’s $7.25-an-hour minimum wage.
—Rhode Island: Bill would raise the minimum wage from $8 to $9 in 2015.
—South Carolina: One bill would require employers to pay at least $10 an hour or whatever federal law requires, whichever is greater. Another would require employers to pay $1 more than the federal minimum wage. Additionally, there is a resolution to ask voters whether the state constitution should change to allow for a minimum wage greater than the federal minimum wage.
—South Dakota: Ballot measure would raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour beginning in January 2015.
—Tennessee: House Democrats plan to introduce a minimum wage bill this year.
—Utah: A Democratic lawmaker is working on a proposal to increase Utah’s minimum wage by $1 from $7.25 to $8.25.
—Vermont: A bill in the House would raise the minimum wage to $12.50 in 2015, while a bill in the Senate would boost it to $12 per hour in 2016. Both would adjust it for inflation afterward.
—Virginia: One bill would raise the wage to $8.50 an hour, another to $8.25.
—Washington: A bill would increase what is already the highest state minimum wage in the nation to $12 an hour over the next three years.
—West Virginia: House Democratic delegates are pushing a $1 increase to the minimum wage.
—Wisconsin: Bills would raise the general minimum wage from $7.25 to $7.60.
—Wyoming: A bill would raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour for non-tipped employees.
