On Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Wyoming House of Representatives voted against a bill to raise the state minimum wage in the state to $7.25.
House Bill 140 (HB 140), was introduced to the Wyoming Legislature with the intent to raise the current state minimum wage of $5.15 to $9. 50, and introduce a training wage of $7.50.
“It started as an attempt to raise the minimum wage above the federal level,” Wyoming Representative Charles Pelkey said.
The bill was revised, then, to raise the Wyoming minimum wage to the federal level of $7.25 per hour.
“The cost of living in Wyoming isn’t necessarily low,” Pelkey said. “There are some aspects of Wyoming that can be expensive. $15,000 a year isn’t easy to live on, especially when you think about insurance and other expenses.”
Roger Coupal, an Associate Professor in the Center for Energy Economics & Public
Policy at the University of Wyoming, said that the discussion should be centered on how raising the minimum wage could effect unemployment in the state.
“The negative effects are small,” Coupal said.
The effects of raising the minimum wage could also vary depending on what sector of Wyoming infrastructure is in question.
“In some urban areas of the state like Cheyenne and Casper, there might be negative effects, particularly in the retail,” Coupal said. “The growth in this area is high enough that the effects could be negligible.
Coupal said that he finds it hard to believe that a raise in the minimum wage could affect the agriculture and natural resource industries in the state as well.
“You really wont see a massive increase in unemployment in Wyoming for the same reason that employment in the state is so high,” Coupal said. “People may lose their jobs, but those people often move out of the state to find work.”
Pelkey said the Wyoming economy could benefit from a raise in the minimum wage.
“When people receive an extra dollar per hour, they have to spend it in order to get the benefits from it, and that money stimulates the local economy,” Pelkey said.
Some in favor or raising the minimum wage say that it could be good for Wyoming’s image, which has been known nationwide as having the lowest minimum wage in the country.
“If they raise the minimum wage, it would help the stigma, maybe it would help people move here,” Leah Tray, a student employee at UW, said. “It depends on where you live in the state. I definitely couldn’t pay my rent on $5.15 an hour.”
Aside from expected costs, like rent, there is the possibility of unforeseen costs.
“I think it has some real benefits. Right now the wage is too low in the state, especially when low income people have health emergencies and need some assistance,” Coupal said.
Pelkey said that a higher minimum wage could also help to reduce dependency on state or federal assistance for low income earners.
The Wyoming minimum wage will not be raised this legislative session as the bill was defeated in the House.
