Minimum Wage Ballot Measures

Minimum Wage Measures on the 2006 Ballot

November 12, 2006

Background

Minimum wage is not a new subject of the initiative process. In fact, it has a long history on the ballot, and was among the earliest subjects ever addressed by the initiative process. Most recently, there was a spate of minimum wage issues on the ballot in the late 1990s.

What’s on the ballot this year?

This year, six states have initiatives on the ballot to raise the minimum wage. There were signature drives in at least four other states—Arkansas, California, Michigan and Oklahoma—that either failed to gather sufficient signatures or were abandoned after state legislatures acted to raise the minimum wage. All of the proposals would also adjust the minimum wage annually for inflation. Nevada’s proposal has a unique provision – it would leave the minimum wage at $5.15/hour for employers who provide health benefits, but require employers who do not provide health benefits to pay a minimum of $6.15/hour.

Several of these states have considered initiatives increasing the minimum wage before. Nevada’s Question 6 first appeared on the ballot in 2004 and was approved. It has to be approved a second time this year before it can take effect. Voters in Missouri and Montana rejected minimum wage increases in 1996.

Minimum Wage Measures on the 2006 Ballot

State

Measure #

Topic Area

Type^a

CA/S^b

Pass/Fail

Arizona

Proposition 202

Minimum wage

I

S

Pass (65.4%)

Colorado

Amendment 42

Minimum wage

I

CA

Pass (53.3%)

Missouri

Proposition B

Minimum wage

I

S

Pass (76%)

Montana

I-151

Minimum wage

I

S

Pass (72.7%)

Nevada

Question 6

Minimum wage; exception if health care benefits provided

I

CA

Pass (68.7%)

Ohio

Issue 2

Minimum wage

I

CA

Pass (56.5%)
a) Type: I = citizen-initiated
b) CA = constitutional amendment
S = statutory

How does this compare to previous years?

There have been eight initiatives in seven states since 1996 that proposed increasing the minimum wage:

In 2004, Florida voters approved an initiative constitutional amendment raising the minimum wage to $6.15/hour beginning six months after enactment, and indexing it to inflation each year thereafter. This is the first instance of a state passing a constitutional amendment raising the minimum wage. Nevada voters also passed a constitutional amendment raising the minimum wage in 2004. However, Nevada’s process requires that a constitutional amendment be passed in two consecutive elections before it takes effect. Therefore, the minimum wage increase first proposed in 2004 in Nevada will not take effect unless it passes a second time this year.

In 2002, Oregon voters approved a minimum wage increase for the second time (the first time was in 1996 – see below for details). This increase raised the minimum wage to $6.90/hour beginning in 2003, and adjusted it annually for inflation.

In 1998, Washington voters approved an increase in the minimum wage, setting it at $5.70/hour beginning in 1999, increasing to $6.50/hour in 2000, and annually adjusting it for inflation beginning in 2001. This is the first instance of an initiative that indexed the minimum wage annually for inflation.

In 1996, California voters approved an initiative that increased the minimum wage to $5.00/hour on March 1, 1997, and to $5.75/hour on March 1, 1998. That same year, Missouri voters declined to pass a minimum wage increase. It would have set the minimum wage at $6.25/hour on January 1, 1997, and raised it by 25¢ per hour in 1998 and 1999, and 15¢ per hour each year thereafter. Also in 1996, Montana voters declined to pass a minimum wage hike that would have set the minimum at $4.75/hour in 1997 and raised it by 50¢ per hour in each of the next three years. Oregon voters approved an increase to $5.50/hour in 1997, with annual increases of 50¢ per hour in each of the next two years

In 1914, California voters approved a constitutional amendment permitting the legislature to establish a minimum wage for women and minors. It is certain that other states considered minimum wage issues in the early 1900s, as labor measures were commonly on the ballot then, but NCSL’s data on early ballot measures is incomplete at this time.

Links to NCSL Information

State Minimum Wages

NCSL’s Main Page for Labor & Employment Issues

Links to Outside Sources of Information

Note: The inclusion of these links does not constitute an endorsement by NCSL of the positions that may be taken by these organizations. The links are provided for informational purposes only.

Chief Proponents & Opponents of Specific Measures

Arizona Minimum Wage Coalition – proponents of Arizona’s Proposition 202

No on 202 – opponents of Arizona’s Proposition 202

Coloradans for a Fair Minimum Wage – proponents of Colorado’s Amendment 42

Respect Colorado’s Constitution – opponents of Colorado’s Amendment 42

Give Missourians a Raise – proponents of Missouri’s Proposition B

Raise Montana – proponents of Montana’s I-151

Give Nevada a Raise – proponents of Nevada’s Question 6

Nevadans Against Question 6 – opponents of Nevada’s Question 6

Ohioans for a Fair Minimum Wage – proponents of Ohio’s Issue 2

Ohioans to Protect Personal Privacy – opponents of Ohio’s Issue 2

Other Sites of Interest

U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wage Laws in the States

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers

Economic Policy Institute (workers’ perspective on minimum wage)

Employment Policies Institute (business perspective on minimum wage)

AFL-CIO: American Needs a Raise (national group supporting minimum wage increase)

National Restaurant Association (national group opposing minimum wage increase)

Contacts for More Information

Jeanne Mejeur, NCSL contact for information on minimum wage

Jennie Drage Bowser, NCSL contact for ballot measures information