The Latest on possible changes to the New Mexico minimum wage (all times local):
2:10 p.m.
The New Mexico Senate has approved a bill to increase the statewide minimum wage from $7.50 to $9.
The Senate voted 24-6 Wednesday for the proposed legislation over the objections of Republican lawmakers.
The minimum wage bill now moves to the House, where a separate bill would set the wage floor at $9.25 and place restrictions on local policies that curb flexible scheduling by employers.
The Senate bill was amended at the start of deliberations to increase the minimum wage in two steps, starting at $8.25 in October and $9 in April 2018.
Senate Bill Sponsor Clemente Sanchez said the new amendment responds to concerns from agricultural businesses.
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1:20 p.m.
A proposal to raise New Mexico's statewide minimum wage has reached the floor of the state Senate.
Legislators took up debate Wednesday of a bill that would raise the pay floor from $7.50 an hour to $9. The bill includes an $8 hourly training wage for the first two months of employment.
The first wage hike for the state's lowest paid workers since 2009 would be felt acutely in rural, low-income areas. The state's three largest urban areas — at Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Albuquerque — already have local minimums. The highest is $11.09 in Santa Fe.
With the federal minimum wage frozen at $7.25 since 2009, many states are taking action. Nineteen states began the year with higher minimum wages through automated adjustments, new laws or ballot initiatives.
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