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Florida Attorney Moves to Put $15/Hour Minimum Wage Measure on the Ballot


This past Tuesday morning, Florida attorney John Morgan announced plans to take steps to put a minimum wage hike ballot measure before voters in 2020.  The ballot measure would seek to raise the hourly minimum wage rate in the state from its current rate of $8.46/hour up to $15/hour.  (The hourly wage rate would go up to $10/hour on September 30, 2021 and then rise $1/year until it hit $15/hour in September of 2026).  Notably, the proposal would place this minimum wage hike in the Florida Constitution as an amendment.  Within the past year or so, Morgan's law firm has raised nearly $500,000 for a committee that has been pushing for a minimum wage hike.

Readers might wonder why a Florida attorney (that is not the Attorney General of the state nor a politician) would put such time and effort toward a ballot measure.  That is a good question.  It is worth nothing that in 2016, Morgan helped a ballot measure succeed that legalized marijuana in the state.  Building off that success, he has now apparently turned his focus to minimum wage arguing that minimum wage workers should be entitled to a "living wage".  While succeeding in the efforts to legalize marijuana a few years ago does not mean the $15/hour ballot measure would succeed, if voters get a say, it does lend credence to the fact that Morgan appears ready and willing to fight for its success.  After all, late last year he indicated he was ready to pledge $1 million to support a $15/hour minimum wage movement in the state.

It will be interesting to see whether this effort gains any steam in the coming months.  Stay tuned.


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