LANSING, MI – Michigan’s minimum wage would rise to $10 an hour by 2015 – the highest state rate in the nation -- then be linked to the rate of inflation under a bill submitted today by at Detroit state senator.

The bill from Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, would raise the $7.40 an hour rate to $7.90 by Jan. 1, 2013, with increases each six months until the minimum wage is $10 by Jan. 1, 2015.

Johnson's bill then links the minimum wage to inflation to prevent workers from losing purchasing power.

The bill faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled state Senate, and faces opposition from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

“As the economy continues to rebound from the Great Recession, hard-working men and women are still struggling to get by,” Johnson said in a release. “The costs of living continue to rise. Food, gas and other essential items get more expensive each year, but wages remain stagnant. This bill would provide much-needed support to Michiganders who work hard every day to support themselves and their families.”

Johnson said a better minimum wage boosts the standard of living, stimulates consumption and decreases the need for governmental assistance.

“Today, Michigan taxpayers are subsidizing billion dollar corporations that pay their employees the currently inadequate minimum wage, because many of those earners still must rely on state assistance,” he said. “My bill would shrink government spending and drive demand for products and services.”

Wendy Block, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s director of health policy and human resources, said only 16 states currently have a higher minimum wage than Michigan.

“With a minimum wage of $10 per hour, Michigan would have the highest minimum wage in the entire country,” she said. “Without a corresponding increase in profits, this proposal would be a death sentence for thousands of job providers who are marginally profitable and trigger a new round of lay-offs. Many Michigan job providers and families still have not recovered from devastation of the economic recession and this proposal would only make that situation worse.”

Washington, at $9.04 an hour, has the highest state minimum, though through Santa Fe, N.M. and San Francisco have city minimum wages set at $10.29 and $10.24 an hour.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and Michigan’s is set at $7.40, though employees earning tips can be paid $2.65 an hour and minors 16–17 years of age may be paid 85 percent of the minimum hourly wage rate, $6.29 per hour.

"For a year and a half, the state has been giving to businesses and taking from families, and now it’s time to reverse that trend," said Robert McCann, a spokesman for the Senate Democratic caucus. "This is something that would benefit the economy directly.”

Email Dave Murray at dmurray@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter @ReporterDMurray or on Facebook.