As Alabama lawmakers prepare to discuss a bill banning local minimum wage laws, Hillary Clinton's campaign has denounced legislative attempts to derail Birmingham's wage increase.

The Alabama House of Representatives is expected to debate the bill Tuesday afternoon. Fifty Republican house members are co-sponsoring the bill, which has been fast-tracked as Birmingham seeks to expedite a minimum wage increase approved last year for all workers within the city limits.

Opponents of the bill have planned a rally in Mountain Brook on Tuesday afternoon.

In this photo taken Jan. 12, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in Ames, Iowa. (AP file photo)

Hillary for America Senior Policy Advisor Maya Harris released this statement:

"It's wrong that Alabamians work hard for forty hours or more each week and could still be unable to make ends meet. So it's disturbing that Alabama Republicans are considering legislation to overrule a local government's actions to require employers in their community to pay their employees a living wage. We should be raising wages, not insisting they are high enough. That's why Hillary Clinton has called for a $12 federal minimum wage and encouraging states to go even higher. Her top priority as President would be raising incomes, and she stands united with Alabama Democrats and others who are working to block this move by state Republicans to shortchange underserved communities like those in the city of Birmingham."

Last week, the Birmingham City Council passed an ordinance moving the city's minimum wage increase to March 1, instead of its original July 1 implementation. Advocates say that, in Birmingham alone, 42,000 workers will see higher pay.

Alabama does not have a minimum wage, so employers follow the federal floor of $7.25 an hour. Last year, the Birmingham City Council voted to raise the minimum wage in two steps, first to $8.50 and to $10.10 in July 2017.

The minimum wage issue has demonstrated some of the clearest divides during the 2016 campaign, with Democrats largely in favor of a higher federal wage and Republican candidates opposed.

Democratic candidates addressed the issue during a debate in Iowa, with Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Martin O'Malley - who has since suspended his campaign - speaking out for a $15 minimum wage. In 2015, Sanders sponsored legislation seeking to increase the federal wage.

Clinton supports a $12 federal minimum wage but says some states and municipalities could benefit from a higher wage floor. Her platform also calls for expansion of overtime rules and providing incentives for companies to share profits with employees.