It is the topic that just won’t go away, so there is more to report this week again on minimum wage initiatives, both pro and con. Speaking again of preemptions, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has threatened to veto legislation passed in different versions by both the House and Senate that would block cities and towns from creating their own minimum wage and paid leave laws. Calling it “bad policy to take over the decision making authority of local governments”, Dayton also intimated that any budget bill containing the preemption would also be vetoed. The current Minnesota minimum wage is $9.50 an hour, but Minneapolis officials are mulling a gradual increase in the local minimum to $15 per hour. Restaurant owners have initiated a campaign called “Pathways to 15” that would authorize a tip credit to be included in the calculation. On the flip side of that same preemption coin, we have the state of Missouri, which passed a local preemption law last year to undo a local minimum wage set by the city of St. Louis. Ultimately, the court reinstated the St. Louis minimum wage and all was thought to be decided and the issue dead. However, the legislature last week passed a new preemption law and sent it to Governor Eric Geitens who has yet to indicate whether or not he will sign the measure. Should he sign the bill into law, the St. Louis minimum wage of $10 an hour that became effective just two weeks ago would revert back to the state minimum of $7.70 per hour. In Nevada, a bill that would raise the state minimum to $15 an hour has advanced to the full Senate after receiving committee approval. If it clears the Senate, the Assembly will then begin deliberating it. Meanwhile, Indianapolis is planning a public hearing for May 23 on a proposal to mandate a “living wage” of $13 an hour, but only for city and country employees (the first cog in the wheel). Indiana’s minimum wage is $7.25/hour.