Top Democrats in the Nevada Legislature predicted Monday that both the Senate and Assembly will approve a plan to raise the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour for employers who don't provide health benefits. Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said the minimum wage increase isn't a partisan issue. Two-thirds of the 63-member Legislature signed on to AB87, the wage increase plan. While most are Democrats, some Republicans are among the co-sponsors. The bill is certain to pass the Democrat-controlled Assembly, and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said she expects it to win Senate approval too. She noted the same plan was in a ballot question supported by two-thirds of the state's voters last fall - and an even higher percentage approved it in places like Douglas County, a GOP stronghold. The ballot question requires voter approval again in 2006, but Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, chief sponsor of AB87, said her bill would speed up the process. "We don't need to wait," she added. The bill is up for a hearing Wednesday in the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee. While the $6.15 hourly wage would have to be paid by employers who don't provide health benefits, employers who do provide the benefits could pay $5.15 an hour. [more]

• In 2002, it was estimated by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) that 88,000 workers in Michigan were earning a wage at or below the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. The BLS also estimated that 464,000 Michigan workers made between $5.15 and $7.15 an hour - that's one of six hourly workers. [more]
• Minimum Wage Proposed in Arizona: Republicans Against it [more]