Minimum Wage Goes 5 For 5 in Ballot Measures

Voters in five states approved minimum wage ballot measures earlier this month. This means that the minimum wage will increase in four of the five states, according to NCSL and various news sources. In the fifth, Illinois, the ballot question was only advisory and still requires the Illinois General Assembly to act in order to change the law.

Here are brief descriptions of the proposed increases:

State	Brief Description
Alaska	Proposed a two-step increase to the minimum wage: to $8.75 effective Jan. 1, 2015 and to $9.75 effective Jan. 1, 2016.
Arkansas	Proposed a three-step increase to the minimum wage: to $7.50 effective Jan. 1, 2015, to $8 effective Jan. 1, 2016, and to $8.50 effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Illinois	An advisory question that asked voters whether they supported increasing the minimum wage to $10 by Jan. 1, 2015.
Nebraska	Proposed a two-step increase in the minimum wage: to $8 effective Jan. 1, 2015 and to $9 effective Jan. 1, 2016.
South Dakota	Proposed an increase in the minimum wage to $8.50 effective Jan. 1, 2015.

For more details and links to the ballot measures, see NCSL’s website.