The Kansas House has advanced a bill that prohibits cities and counties from adopting their own minimum or living wage rates.
Republicans who back the bill also fought off an amendment to raise the Kansas minimum wage from $7.25 to $13.25 an hour.
The amendment was offered by Representative Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat.
“It is wrong to work full-time and live in poverty,” Ward says.
Republicans also fended off amendments to allow cities and counties to set wage rates on public works projects.
The House tentatively approved the bill 81 to 34. It’s scheduled for a final vote on Friday.
