Minimum wage bill negotiations stall at Legislature

House and Senate negotiations on a minimum wage increase bill have stalled, and talks aren't expected to resume until Monday at the earliest.

Senate Democrats agreed this week to the House position of a $9.50 hourly rate for large businesses, but they continue to oppose a provision for automatic future increases based on inflation.

Last year, the House passed a bill to increase the hourly rate to $9.50, while the Senate passed a $7.75 measure. They were not able to reach a compromise before the session adjourned.

State Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, said some of his Senate colleagues are now getting cold feet about $9.50. "People listen to their constituents and they listen to the businesses in their district," Hayden said. "We really thought we could have this thing buttoned up by now because we gave that big concession. We're just not there yet."

State Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, said he believes the Senate will stick with $9.50. He described the current stalemate over the indexing issue as part of the "normal healthy process of negotiation."