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Despite new state law, KC voters deciding on minimum wage hike

Voters in Kansas City hope to send a message to the state.

Arizona: What is the minimum wage? (Credit: AP)

Voters in Kansas City, Missouri, will on Tuesday consider raising the city's minimum wage well above the state minimum, even though a new Missouri law forbids cities from making their own rules on the issue.

The measure is among several in local elections across Missouri.

The Kansas City proposal would create a minimum wage of $10 per hour on Aug. 24 and increase it annually starting Sept. 1, 2019, eventually reaching $15 per hour in 2022.

But if it passes, what happens next isn't clear because Missouri's Republican-led Legislature in May passed a measure barring local government from enacting minimum wages different from the state. The law, effective Aug. 28, forced St. Louis to stop requiring a $10 minimum wage and revert to the state minimum of $7.70 per hour.

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