Minimum wage rally in Mountain Brook

Protesters show their opposition against Rep. David Faulkner's bill to block Alabama cities from setting minimum wages. The Birmingham City Council previously voted to increase minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. The rally was at Mountain Brook Village on Feb. 16, 2016. (Jonathan Grass/jgrass@al.com)

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A bill to block Alabama cities from setting their own minimum wages is now law. Gov. Robert Bentley has signed the bill, his office said.

The Alabama Senate passed the bill today by a vote of 23-11.

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to raise the minimum to $10.10 an hour moving the effective date up from an ordinance passed earlier.

The bill's passage voids the ordinance passed in Birmingham, according to the city's legal department.

"It certainly is unfortunate and, if it stands up, it is a loss for those who deserve to earn a livable wage in the city of Birmingham and, for that matter, the state of Alabama," Council President Johnathan Austin said. "But the state obviously disagrees."

Birmingham officials have not yet said what, if any, recourse the city has.

"We will continue to work together to stand and fight for our citizens," Austin said.

The Legislature has the authority to preempt local ordinances, even those that are already in effect, said Mike Lewis, spokesman for Attorney General Luther Strange. Lewis was not commenting specifically on the minimum wage bill.

The Republican super majorities in the House and Senate put the bill on the fast-track as the Birmingham City Council raced to enact its minimum wage.

The bill sponsor, Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, said the state needs to maintain a uniform minimum and that Birmingham businesses were not given adequate notice for the change.

The Senate passed the bill today after Democratic senators spoke in opposition to the measure for about three and a half hours. The Senate voted 22-11 to cut off debate before passing the bill Thursday afternoon.

The governor's office sent out an email saying that the governor had signed the bill less than an hour after it passed.

The vote was mostly along party lines, but not entirely.

Republican Sens. Paul Bussman of Cullman and Bill Holtzclaw of Madison are listed as no votes on the Legislature's website.

All eight Democratic senators voted against the bill.

They condemned it an effort to encroach on local authority and a move that would hurt workers struggling to make ends meet.

"When you lift a person on the bottom, everybody above them is lifted up," Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham said.

Alabama does not have its own minimum wage, so employers follow the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, last raised in 2009.

"Everything has gone up," Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison said. "Yet we don't feel that the working poor deserves a break."

Coleman-Madison has proposed a constitutional amendment that would raise the minimum statewide to $10 by 2018.

Republican lawmakers supporting the bill said it would force employers to eliminate jobs, reduce hours or raise costs on customers to absorb the increased labor costs.

"I can promise you employment will go downhill," said Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, who carried the bill in the Senate.

Austin said he appreciates the support the city council's efforts have received from many members of the Jefferson County legislative delegation in both the House and Senate.

Joe Keffer, who has advocated for higher minimum wages as part of a group called Raise Up Alabama, disputed assertions that raising the minimum eliminates jobs.

Keffer said workers who benefit from a minimum wage increase spend the extra money within the community, boosting local economies.

Keffer said it's wrong for lawmakers to stand in the way of higher minimum wages in Birmingham and other cities because of the state's high levels of poverty.

"What they're saying is we think business interests are more important than interests of people in the city," Keffer said.

Ken Smith, executive director of the Alabama League of Municipalities, said the league did not take a position on the legislation.

Smith said that league members were on both sides of the issue.

The bill also prohibits counties from enacting minimum wages, but counties already lacked that authority, said Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

Updated at 4:37 p.m. to correct vote total.

Updated at 4:46 p.m. with information from city of Birmingham. Updated at 7:25 p.m. to add comment from Mike Lewis.



AL.com reporter Kelsey Stein contributed to this report.