The topic of setting a statewide minimum wage has been one of fierce contention at the Iowa Legislature, and a bill was recently introduced and passed through subcommittee that would prevent counties from setting their own minimum wage. House Study Bill 92 has garnered the support of republicans in the legislature, including State Representative Jarad Klein. Klein argues that it was never in the power of cities and counties to set their own minimum wage, so he says the bill isn’t technically taking anything away. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors had approved a $10.10 minimum wage, but Klein believes that could be detrimental to rural neighbors such as Washington County. HSB92 would return Johnson, and three other counties whose local supervisors have approved increases, to the current federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Legislators are entertaining the possibility of increasing the statewide minimum to compensate for the increased cost of living in the more populous counties, but Klein isn’t keen on approving that. He says, “The bottom line is, there are very, very few people that are on minimum wage. The majority of folks are well above it. Locally, there’s only a few places that are paying minimum wage, and those are typically grocery stores and things like that where they’re employing high school kids. If you get beyond that, there’s very few places that I know of in towns that are paying the minimum wage to folks that are trying to sustain a full family.” Opponents to the bill say it strips local governments of their right to choose for themselves how best to support their residents, and that not every county has the same needs. To hear more about topics at the legislature, listen to the three-part In Touch with Southeast Iowa interview with Klein at KCIIRadio.com.