Last week we discussed pending proposals to raise the state minimum wage. On Tuesday, May 27, Governor Snyder signed a bill raising the minimum wage by 25 percent gradually over the next four years, to $9.25 an hour by 2018. According to Governor Snyder, “This was a great exercise in bipartisanship and both chambers working together in close partnership, coming up with an agreement and executing on that. It’s good for the hard-working people of Michigan.”

The minimum wage will increase gradually under the bill: in September of this year, the minimum wage moves up to $8.15; on January 1, 2016, $8.50; on January 1, 2017, $8.90; and finally, $9.25 on January 1, 2018.

While this bill was aimed at heading off the ballot initiative aimed at increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, it is not certain that the bill will achieve that goal. Raise Michigan, the group responsible for the initiative, claims that according to the state Constitution, the Secretary of State must now review the signatures and follow the usual ballot process.