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The "living wage" ordinance backed by the Milwaukee County Board last week — and others like it — would be barred under legislation up for a hearing Wednesday at the Capitol.

The proposed state measure prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing a minimum wage law. It also would bar local officials from having residency requirements for workers on public works projects.

State Rep. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield), the bill's author, said it was prompted by the pending county wage ordinance as well as long-standing local laws requiring that some public works jobs go to residents.

Milwaukee County has had an ordinance since 1995 calling for 50% of workers on county road and other public works jobs to live in the county, with some exceptions.

Kapenga said he is proposing a living wage revision that would bar local minimum wage ordinances only in instances where state or federal money is involved.

That should help quell concerns that the measure tramples on local control, Kapenga said. It would be unfair to permit state money to go to locales with such laws because it would effectively transfer money from other areas with lower minimum wages, he said.

County Supervisor David Bowen, the author of the Milwaukee County ordinance, called Kapenga's bill "a slap in the face" to local control.

Jennifer Epps-Addison, executive director of Wisconsin Jobs Now advocacy group, criticized County Executive Chris Abele for lobbying for the measure. State records show Eric Peterson, Abele's county lobbyist, registered Jan. 7 to lobby on a cluster of issues, including prohibiting local living wage ordinances.

The county lobbied a total of 38 hours on that and related topics in the last half of 2013, according to the state Government Accountability Board website.

"Shame on Executive Abele for working to steal opportunity for hard-working Milwaukee County residents," Epps-Addison said in a statement.

Brendan Conway, a spokesman for Abele, said the lobbying was on raising the state minimum wage, not barring local living wage ordinances.

The County Board approved an $11.32 minimum wage Thursday by a 12-6 margin. The measure was backed by labor unions and advocacy groups, who said all full-time workers should earn enough to support their families.

The $11.32 figure represents the federal poverty level for a family of four.

The City of Milwaukee, Madison and Dane County also have higher local minimum wage ordinances.

Opponents and Abele said minimum wage laws are best set the by state and federal government.

Abele and county Comptroller Scott Manske have also warned that the county measure would increase costs of the county's Family Care program, which pays for such low-wage workers as personal care attendants for frail elderly and people with disabilities.

Abele has not yet said whether he would veto the measure.

About 2,400 Family Care workers would get raises under the board-backed living wage ordinance.

Bowen said he hoped to persuade lawmakers of both parties to reject the state bill.

"Nobody believes in local control anymore, not even Republicans," he said. "This came completely out of nowhere."

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he didn't support Kapenga's bill in its current form. He said he opposed the Milwaukee County Board's action, but felt that lawmakers should focus more on state rather than local spending.

Vos said he talked with Kapenga about scaling back the bill so it only pre-empted county actions that would raise spending of state tax money.

"Look, I disagree with what the Milwaukee County Board did," Vos said. But "they get to make some decisions."

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Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.