TALLAHASSEE (WFLA News) -- State economists say raising the minimum wage in Florida to $15 an hour by 2027 will eventually end up raising the cost of government payrolls by half a billion dollars a year.
The report from the Financial Impact Estimating Conference of the state legislature says the constitutional amendment being promoted by Orlando attorney John Morgan would mean state and local governments would see a $16 million increase in payroll costs in 2022, the first year it takes effect. By 2027, when the minimum wage would reach $15, the impact on state and local payrolls would reach $540 million a year. School districts would see the biggest increases.
That report also predicts the cost of government contracts will increase. Voters will see that information alongside a ballot issue next year if Orlando lawyer John Morgan succeeds in getting enough petition signatures.
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