Group seeks to raise Mo. minimum wage

Missouri voters could be asked to raise the state's minimum wage to $8.25 an hour.

A group that backed a successful wage increase in the 2006 elections is now pushing to get the minimum wage issue back on the ballot in Missouri's 2012 elections.

An open-records request from The Associated Press shows that the minimum wage initiative already has been submitted to the secretary of state's office, which must approve a ballot title before supporters can begin gathering signatures.

Missouri's minimum wage currently matches the federal requirement of $7.25 an hour. The initiative would ask voters to raise that to $8.25 an hour effective in 2013, with an adjustment for inflation in following years.

The measure also would increase the penalties for businesses that don't pay the minimum wage.