KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City, Missouri, voters on Tuesday will consider raising the city’s minimum wage well above the state minimum, even though a new Missouri law could render the vote moot.
The ballot measure is among several facing voters in local elections across the state.
The Kansas City proposal would create a minimum wage of $10 per hour on Aug. 24 and increase it annually by $1.25 per hour starting Sept. 1, 2019, eventually reaching $15 per hour in 2022.
It faces a big hurdle after the Republican-led Legislature in May passed a measure barring local government from enacting minimum wages different from the state minimum. The law, effective Aug. 28, forced St. Louis to stop requiring a $10 minimum wage and revert to the state minimum of $7.70 per hour.