BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho legislators are moving forward with a measure that would ban local governments from increasing the minimum wage. House Bill 463 prohibits local governments from instituting ordinances to raise the minimum wage, while banning similar ballot initiatives.

The House Business Committee voted along party lines Monday in a 14-3 vote to approve the ban. It must now clear the House and Senate floors. Pam Eaton of the Idaho Retailers Association told the Republican-controlled committee raising minimum wage in some communities and not others creates a checkerboard of regulation that is unfair to businesses.

She argued that it's also unclear whether local municipalities currently have the authority to impose a minimum wage increase. The measure's critics say the legislation takes away local control and ensures that Idaho will remain a low-wage state.

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