State lawmakers in the Washington House of Representatives approved a bill in a 51 to 46 vote that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour over the next four years. Washington currently boasts the nation’s highest state minimum wage at $9.47 per hour.
Only Democrats voted to pass HB 1355 and the bill now moves to the Senate for approval where several members have spoken critically about the effects a minimum wage boost would have on the state.
The first increase would take effect Jan. 1, 2016 and bring the minimum wage to $10 per hour. Three additional $.50 or $1 per hour increments would bring the minimum wage to $12 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019.