State Senate to consider bill raising Washington's minimum wage

A bill to raise Washington's highest-in-the-nation state minimum wage to $12 an hour with a series of annual 50-cent increases is set to get a hearing in the state Senate.

A committee in the Republican-controlled chamber is scheduled to discuss the measure Monday afternoon. It already passed the House, where Democrats are in the majority.

Washington's hourly minimum wage is now $9.47. Under the state's current law, the minimum wage goes up every January with inflation.

The Employment Security Department said this year's minimum wage hike affected more than 67,000 workers.