KY House Panel OKs Bill To Raise Minimum Wage

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published January 31, 2014 at 6:59 AM CST

A bill aimed at raising Kentucky’s minimum wage has cleared a state House committee.

The measure is one of House Speaker Greg Stumbo’s top priorities. He says the current minimum wage doesn't provide a living wage.

Stumbo says full-time employees working at minimum wage make less than the average cost of a used car in the U.S. The House Labor and Industry Committee approved the bill yesterday.

Under the bill, the state's minimum wage would gradually increase from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour July 1st, 2016. A 95 cent increase would come this July with a second 95 cent boost July 2015.

Stumbo says Kentucky's minimum wage hasn't been raised since 2009.

Business & Economy

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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