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JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — The new year is bringing a dime increase for Missouri's minimum wage and the end of an open records exemption that has shielded from disclosure security systems and structural plans for buildings and polices for responding to terrorism.
Starting Wednesday, workers in Missouri will be paid at least $7.35 an hour, an increase above the federal rate of $7.25 because of inflation. A 2006 voter-approved law increased the minimum wage and included an annual cost of living adjustment. The federal minimum wage for the past several years had remained higher, so Missouri followed the federal requirement.
Lara Granich, director of Missouri Jobs with Justice, said many workers have been waiting three years for a raise. "While Missouri's minimum wage remains decades out of date, this modest increase will deliver a valuable stimulus to the state's economy and ensure that low-wage workers do not fall further behind as the cost of living continues to rise," Granich said.
The minimum wage also is increasing in nine other states, the National Employment Law Project said. Advocates estimate Missouri's minimum wage increase could directly affect 72,000 people and indirectly affect 7,000.
Business groups said Missouri needs to rethink automatically increasing the minimum wage based upon inflation because it makes it harder to compete with neighboring states.
Dan Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said after the increase was announced this fall that it causes uncertainty.
"At a time when
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