Culver signs into law a $7.25 minimum wage

(Paid for by the Iowa Democratic Party)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Flanked by cheering lawmakers and a couple low-wage workers, Gov. Chet Culver signed into law on Thursday a package raising the state's hourly minimum age to $7.25 by Jan. 1.

"You have fought for many years to see this day come," Culver said during the ceremony at the Statehouse rotunda. "I thank you for keeping the faith."

Culver, signing his first bill as Iowa's governor, cheered the broad bipartisan support for the measure, noting that 119 out of 150 lawmakers voted for the increase - including floor leaders of both parties.

The state's minimum wage of $5.15 an hour will increase to $6.20 on April 1 and $7.25 on Jan. 1.

Several interested parties attended the ceremony, including Tonya Gibson, who has worked at a series of minimum wage jobs and is seeking her high school equivalency at Des Moines Area Community College.

"I'll be able to provide for my children better and I'll be able to get things that they need," said Gibson, a mother of five.

"I'll be able to pay rent, bills, buy clothes, food and stuff like that."

Culver said wages will increase for nearly 260,000 Iowans who work at or near the minimum wage - roughly 18 percent of the state's work force.

The law does not mandate wage increases for those who work near the minimum wage, but Culver and others expect the competitive market will boost those wages.

"This is a real improvement in the quality of life for many Iowans," said Culver, who campaigned hard for an increase, telling lawmakers he wanted the bill on his desk in the first 100 days in office. Lawmakers beat that deadline, with the minimum wage being the first measure approved by the Legislature this year.

It won overwhelming support, clearing the House 79-19 on Tuesday and the Senate 40-8 Wednesday night.

Culver, speaking to those workers who will benefit from the new law, said, "For a decade you have waited patiently for a raise and today you will get one."

After cheering the signature, dozens of lawmakers - virtually all Democrats - serenaded Culver with a chorus of "Happy Birthday."

"This is quite a birthday present," said Culver. "It is my 41st birthday and I can't think of a better gift."

Culver used 18 pens to sign the measure, passing them out to lawmakers who played a key role in the debate.

Culver harkened back to his days as a teacher and coach at a Des Moines high school, recalling how a wage increase could have helped Iowans back then.

"I saw firsthand how tough it was for student and families working at the minimum wage to make ends meet," Culver said.

Congress is debating a measure that would increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25, but backers of Iowa's new law said the state will enjoy higher wages a full year earlier than what's being debated in Congress.

Critics worry that the minimum wage increase will hammer small businesses, particularly in rural Iowa where wages tend to be less than in urban centers. To deal with that concern, the measure Culver signed exempts businesses with gross revenues of $300,000 a year or less.

The new law also boosts the training wage that businesses are allowed to pay new workers for a brief period, taking that $4.25 an hour rate to $6.35 by Jan. 1.

A proposal to allow the wage to automatically increase with inflation was not included in the final version lawmakers approved.

But workers such as Gibson didn't appear dismayed at the ceremony.

"I remember when I was getting paid $3.25 an hour, and then it went to $4.75," said Gibson. "I can't wait until it's $7.25 next year."