Birmingham wage rally July 14, 2015

Several dozen people rallied outside Birmingham City Hall after the Tuesday, July 14, city council meeting to urge a minimum wage increase to $10.10 an hour. (Kelsey Stein | kstein@al.com)

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A bill intended to block Birmingham and other cities from establishing their own minimum wages could move a step closer to becoming law today.

The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee meets at 1 p.m. and will consider the bill by Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, which passed the House last week.

It would prohibit cities and counties from setting minimum wages.

Alabama, unlike some states, does not have its own minimum wage, so the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour applies.

The Birmingham City Council voted last year to raise the minimum wage in the city to $10.10 an hour in two phases.

But, in something of a race with the Legislature, the council on Tuesday voted to move the date of the $10.10 an hour requirement to today.

Attorney General Luther Strange said Tuesday that employers could not be forced to follow the new minimum on such a short notice.

Faulkner has said a state law would supersede the Birmingham ordinance.

If Faulkner's bill clears committee today, it could get final passage in the Senate on Thursday.