Senate majority leader: Iowa shouldn’t exceed federal minimum wage

DES MOINES - The top Republican in the Iowa Senate says he does not expect to raise Iowa's current $7.25 statewide minimum hourly wage this session unless the federal government takes action that would increase the national standard to a level above Iowa.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said he does not share Republican Gov. Terry Branstad's view that a 'modest” boost in Iowa's minimum wage may be in order to keep Iowa competitive with neighboring states that have adopted higher hourly wage floors.

'I would expect that at this point we're going to stay connected with the federal minimum wage and so if the federal government were to make a decision to move the federal minimum wage higher” that likely would cause legislative Republicans to consider matching the federal rate. Absent that, he expected 'we'll just maintain” a statewide rate that is equal to the federal $7.25 hourly minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since July 2009. Iowa adopted the same level when the 2007 Legislature adopted and Gov. Chet Culver signed legislation increasing the minimum wage to $6.20 in April 2007 and to $7.25 in January 2008.

Iowa's hourly minimum currently is lower than Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska, Also, officials in Johnson, Linn, Polk and Wapello counties in Iowa have approved hourly wage minimums in their jurisdictions already in affect or slated to take effect in the future that exceed Iowa's law, but those actions would be rendered 'void and unenforceable” if the Legislature passes and Branstad signs a bill in the House that would pre-empt such local action.

Sponsors of House File 295 say the legislation would pre-empt local governments from usurping state authority in business and civil rights areas. It seeks to bar cities and counties from establishing minimum wage levels or employment regulations, invoking marketing or consumer merchandise sales restrictions or adopting civil rights ordinances that go above and beyond what the Legislature and governor have set as a statewide standard.

'I think it's clear that as we look at one of the key factors of growing our state's economy and making sure that we send a statement - not only to the employers and the job creators in our state, but others that are looking to Iowa as a place to grow - that our employment laws will very easily understood and statewide. We believe firmly that that's some thing needs to be considered to keep Iowa an attractive place to grow,” Dix said in an interview Thursday.

'Rather than focusing our time and attention on what those minimum wages are, we're really focusing our time and attention on how can we make Iowa more attractive to high-paying jobs and long-term careers,” he added.

Earlier this week, Branstad said he supports legislative efforts to pre-empt local entities from setting higher wage minimums than the state, but he also would support a 'modest” increase to the $7.25 statewide hourly minimum that would take effect phased in gradually.

'I don't want anything that's going to destroy jobs, but I do think the present minimum wage has been in place for some time and it may be appropriate to do a modest increase over a period of time,” Branstad told his weekly news conference, 'like some of our neighboring states have done.”

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, has said the issues covered in H.F. 295 have always been the functions of state and federal government and not the responsibilities of local entities. She did not know whether there would be a separate bill to come before representatives this session to raise the state minimum wage but she added that majority Republicans were not interested in 'grandfathering” in higher minimum wages that have been passed in four counties.

At the local level, Johnson County was the first in the state to pass a countywide minimum wage ordinance, which brought the local rate up to $10.10 last month. Future adjustments are possible based on committee recommendations.

Linn County's minimum wage increased last month to $8.25 an hour, and is slated to increase to $9.25 next year and reach $10.25 in 2019. Wapello County approved an increase to $10.10 in 2019, while Polk County's minimum wage will reach $10.75 an hour that same year.

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