Senate Bill Could Ban Cities, Counties From Setting Local Minimum Wages

Tallahassee, FL – A new bill making its way through the state Capitol could keep cities and counties from requiring contractors to pay above state and federal minimum wages. The bill—SB 1124, introduced by Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota)—is known as the Wage Mandate Preemption Act. If passed, Florida’s city and county governments would lose the opportunity to seek out contractors that pay their workers a wage set above state and federal minimum wage requirements; which is currently at $10 an hour. This could put some local policies in jeopardy. Some municipalities, like Orlando, have passed policies to ensure that company’s agree to pay their workers a living wage before entering a bid on a city contract. Associations such as the Florida Chamber, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and the Florida Retail Federation, lobbied for the bill’s passage, according to a report from the Tallahassee Democrat. Meanwhile, some at the local level argued that cities and counties should be able to include living wage policies in their contracts. The other argument on the table is local governments are just trying to choose how they want to spend their money. The argument from Gruters and Sen. Joe Harding (R-Williston), who introduced the state House counterpart, HB 943, says local wage mandates affect competition, undermine market forces, and increase costs for taxpayers. But opponents argue that local governments are more aware of local problems and should be able to change their wages.