Partial victory for Colorado Democrats on minimum wage

A Democratic effort to raise the minimum wage in Colorado notched a partial victory Tuesday when the House voted to allow cities to raise the wage if they wish.

But the Democrats didn’t have enough votes to adopt a ballot measure to ask voters about raising the wage statewide.

The bill allowing local governments to raise the wage passed 34-30 on party lines, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed.

The second bill required a two-thirds vote because it would potentially change the state constitution. Republicans had enough votes to block the effort.

Even the passage of the local wage hike bill is a temporary win for the Democrats. The bill faces certain doom in the GOP Senate.

Colorado current minimum wage is $8.23 per hour.