The Missouri 2018 general election ballot will include Proposition B, a proposed state statue to change the minimum wage. Minimum wage changes are based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a consumer price index that reports annual consumer prices. Currently, the minimum wage in Missouri is $7.85/hour while the federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour. The current state wage was decided by 76% voter approval on November 7th, 2006. The 2018 measure, Proposition B, requests voters to choose if the minimum wage should increase beyond $7.85/hour, annually increasing until 2023, when the minimum wage would be $12.00/hour.
Proposition B title appears on the ballot as follows:
Do you want to amend Missouri law to:
- increase the state minimum wage to $8.60 per hour with 85 cents per hour increase each year until 2023, when the state minimum wage would be $12.00 per hour;
- exempt government employers from the above increase; and
- increase the penalty for paying employees less than the minimum wage?
State and local governments estimate no direct costs or savings from the proposal, but operating costs could increase by an unknown annual amount that could be significant. State and local government tax revenue could change by an unknown annual amount ranging from a $2.9 million decrease to a $214 million increase depending on business decisions.
If this proposition is voted “yes” and passed, it would result in annual increases to the Missouri minimum wage starting with $8.60/hour on January 1st, 2019. Each subsequent year, the minimum wage will increase by 85 cents as shown in the following: $9.45/hour (2020), $10.30/hour (2021), $11.15/hour (2022), and $12.00/hour (2023). Following 2023, the minimum wage will change as needed based on the CPI-W. Additionally, a “yes” vote would mean that employers who fail to pay employees the minimum wage must pay increased fees. Government employers would be exempt from the proposed increased.
If this proposition is voted “no” and does not pass, there will be no changes to the current Missouri minimum wage.
Two Missouri municipalities voted to increase minimum wages higher than the state minimum wage: St. Louis (St. Louis Ordinance 70078-2015) and Kansas City (Kansas City Question 3-2017). However, both municipal minimum wage changes were stopped due to approval of House Bill 1194 (HB 1194) in 2017. HB 1194 prevents state subdivisions from requiring employers to pay a minimum wage above the state minimum. Proposition B would not impact HB 1194 mandates.
For more information regarding Proposition B, please refer to this ballotpedia article.