Welcome to the Thursday, December 5, 2024, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Minimum wage to increase in 23 states and D.C. in 2025 by an average of 75 cents
- One justice appointed, three states release candidate lists to fill state supreme court vacancies in November
- This week’s podcast episodes: Split ticket voting in ‘24 and filling cabinet-appointed vacancies in Congress
Minimum wage to increase in 23 states and D.C. in 2025 by an average of 75 cents
Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., are increasing their minimum wages in 2025 by an average of 75 cents. The increases range from 25 cents in Ohio and Montana (a 2.4% increase for both states) to $2.15 in Michigan (a 20.8% increase).
Next year’s minimum wage hikes come from state laws requiring incremental increases and inflation adjustments and approved ballot measures in Alaska and Missouri in 2024.
Minimum wage will increase on Jan. 1 in 19 states. In Michigan, the minimum wage will increase on Jan. 1 and again on Feb. 20. There will be increases on July 1 in Alaska, Oregon, and D.C. Florida’s minimum wage will increase on Sept. 30.
Nationally, the average minimum wage, including D.C., will be $11.18 in 2025, up from $10.69 this year.
Highest and lowest minimum wages:
D.C. will have the highest minimum wage in the country next year, with its current minimum wage at $17.50 effective July 2024 and another increase to be calculated in July 2025. The states with the top three highest minimum wages in 2025 are Washington ($16.66 per hour), California ($16.50 per hour), and Connecticut ($16.35 per hour).
The minimum wage is lowest in Georgia and Wyoming, where the federal government’s $7.25 per hour requirement supersedes the states’ $5.15 minimum wages. Going into 2024, 20 states used the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and 30 states had minimum wages greater than the federal minimum.
Largest and smallest increases in 2025:
Michigan will have the largest increase in 2025. Its $10.33 minimum wage will increase to $10.56 on Jan. 1 and again to $12.48 on Feb. 21, up 20.8% in total. The state supreme court ordered the two increases on July 31, 2024, after ruling that the Legislature’s move to adopt-and-amend a 2018 initiative was unconstitutional. The ballot initiative would have raised the state’s minimum wage between 60 and 75 cents each year until reaching $12 in 2022. After that, the initiative would have raised the minimum wage based on inflation. In December 2018, the Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder (R) amended the law to increase the minimum wage to $12.05 by 2030.
Montana and Ohio will have the smallest increases in 2025, with their minimum wages increasing by 25 cents an hour. Montana’s minimum wage will increase from $10.30 to $10.55 on Jan. 1. In 2006, voters approved Initiative 151, which increased the minimum wage to $6.15 in 2007 and indexed it to inflation beginning in 2008. Ohio’s minimum wage will increase from $10.45 to $10.70 on Jan. 1. In 2006, voters approved Amendment 2, which increased the minimum wage to $6.85 in 2007 and indexed it to inflation beginning in 2008.
Minimum wage ballot measures on the 2024 ballot:
Voters in Alaska and Missouri approved ballot measures increasing the minimum wage.
- Missouri voters approved Proposition A, which will increase the minimum wage to $15 in 2026 and enact paid sick leave requirements.
- Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 1, which will increase the minimum wage to $15 in 2027 and enact paid sick leave requirements. The initiative also prohibits employers from taking adverse action against employees who choose not to attend employer-sponsored meetings on religious or political matters.
On Nov. 5, 2024, California and Massachusetts became the first states since 1996 to reject minimum wage increase ballot measures. In 1996, Missouri voters rejected Proposition A 71.3% to 28.7%, and Montana voters defeated I-121 56.5% to 43.5%
- California voters rejected Proposition 32 50.7% to 49.3%. It would have increased the minimum wage to $18 per hour. This was the highest proposed minimum wage ever appearing on a statewide ballot.
- Voters in Massachusetts rejected Question 5 64.1% to 35.9%. It would have increased tipped employees’ wages to meet the state minimum wage. The minimum wage for tipped employees in Massachusetts is $6.75, and the minimum wage for non-tipped employees is $15.
From 1996 to 2024, there were 32 ballot measures to increase state minimum wages. Voters approved 28 (87.50%) and rejected four (12.50%).
One justice appointed, three states release candidate lists to fill state supreme court vacancies in November
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, three state supreme courts released lists of applicants, semi-finalists, and finalists for their respective governors’ final appointments. This resulted in one new appointment in Alaska. No new justices were sworn in, and no justices retired or announced their retirement from Nov. 2 to Nov. 30, 2024.
Alaska:
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) appointed Aimee Anderson Oravec to fill the impending vacancy left by Chief Justice Peter J. Maassen’s January 2025 retirement. There are five justices on the court, and Orcavec’s appointment means Alaska will have a majority-women court for the first time in its history. Oravec was one of three finalists that the Alaska Judicial Council sent to Dunleavy on Nov. 8. She will be sworn in as an associate justice for a term of at least three years. Following Oravec’s initial partial term, she may stand for retention for a full 10-year term.
On Nov. 25, Associate Justice Susan Carney was elected to succeed Maassen as the Alaska Supreme Court’s chief justice. Carney will take office after Maassen retires and serve a three-year term. Alaska Supreme Court chief justices can serve more than one term, but those terms cannot be consecutive. Alaska is one of 23 states where the court’s justices choose a chief justice from amongst themselves through a chamber vote. Chief justices are appointed in 15 states, elected in seven states, and determined based on seniority in six states. Click here to learn more about how chief justices are selected in state supreme courts.
Nebraska:
The Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commission for the fifth state supreme court district released a list of candidates who had applied to fill the vacancy created when Justice Jeffrey Funke became chief justice. Only one name appeared on both this list and the one for chief justice. The applicants include an appellate court judge and two district court judges. The Commission will screen applicants on Dec. 12 and send the names of at least two finalists to Gov. Jim Pillen (R), who will make the final appointment. There are seven justices on Nebraska’s Supreme Court.
Arizona:
The Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments published a list of semi-finalists to replace former justice Robert Brutinel, who retired in October. On Nov. 1, the Commission released a list of 17 candidates who had applied for the position. On Nov. 22, the Commission released a streamlined list of eight semi-finalists who would proceed to the next stage of the process. The Commission will interview the eight candidates on Dec. 9. The public will be able to offer its comments on the candidates at that meeting. The Commission will then send the names of at least three finalists to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), who will make her first appointment to the state’s highest court. There are seven justices on Arizona’s Supreme Court.
Context:
Ballotpedia covers court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts. To date, there have been 16 state supreme court vacancies this year in 10 of the 29 states where new justices are appointed instead of elected. There has been one vacancy in a state where a new justice is elected. Retirements account for 14 of the 17 vacancies this year. Three vacancies occurred when a justice became chief justice.
This week’s On The Ballot episodes: Split-ticket voting in ‘24 and filling cabinet-appointed vacancies in Congress
This week, we’re sharing two new episodes of Ballotpedia’s On The Ballot podcast: one on split-ticket voting and a second on the vacancies that occur when a president appoints members of Congress to the cabinet.
In Tuesday’s two-part episode, Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and Ballotpedia managing editor Cory Eucalitto join host and Ballotpedia Editor-in-Chief Geoff Pallay to discuss the effect of split-ticket voting on the 2024 general election results and the trends to watch out for in 2026.
In Thursday’s episode, Ballotpedia Staff Writer Ellen Morrissey joins the show to break down the current and anticipated vacancies in Congress and the processes for filling them as President-elect Donald Trump (R) announces his nominations for the Cabinet and Cabinet-rank positions in his second term.
Subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app, or click the link below to listen.
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