State Watch

Florida approves $15 minimum wage

Florida voters on Tuesday approved a ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 over the next six years.

The referendum, Amendment 2, won with more than 60 percent of the vote, according to WTSP, a Tampa Bay-area CBS affiliate.

Under the amendment, the state minimum wage will be raised from $8.56 to $10 an hour beginning in September 2021. The wage will increase $1 annually through September 2026, with future increases adjusted according to inflation, according to WTSP.

The minimum wage increase campaign Fight For 15 hailed the results of the vote, tweeting “Hats off to the efforts of the workers & volunteers in the #FLfor15 coalition. We’re just getting started!”

The measure makes Florida the eighth state with a $15 minimum wage. The federal minimum wage, $7.25, has not been increased since 2009.