Republicans in Iowa’s House of Representatives voted down a measure by Democrats to bring up a Senate passed bill to increase the minimum wage, effectively killing the proposal this legislative session.

Under the bill passed by the Iowa Senate in late February, Iowa’s current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour would have been increased to $8.00 an hour later this year, then increased again to $8.75 an hour by next summer.

The Senate approved the increase on a mostly party line vote of 27-22. Only one Senate Republican voted for an increase in February.

Wednesday in the House, Democrats attempted a procedural move to bring up the Senate passed bill, but it was voted down by 56-40 margin.

The vote Wednesday blocks the increase from being brought up for debate again this legislative session due to House rules.

“There are 181,000 Iowans earning the minimum wage right now who have not had a raise in nearly eight years,” said Rep. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids, following the vote.

“Over the last 30 years, the minimum wage has failed to keep up with rising costs for Iowa families. Democrats believe working families in Iowa deserve a raise this year,” Taylor added.

State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, supported the bill in the Senate. Quirmbach is a professor of economics at Iowa State and said economic research shows a small increase, such as the one proposed in Iowa, would not have a substantial impact on job losses in the state.

“As an economics professor, the economic research on this is clear, and it shows that there is little, if any, adverse effect on employment with a modest increase in the minimum wage,” Quirmbach said. “The rhetoric about losing jobs is not a serious consideration for this amount of an increase.”

Although Quirmbach says he continues to support an increase, he could not predict next year’s legislature would draft a new increase. Quirmbach said it would depend on how much of this year’s priorities are completed in this session.

“I continue to believe that giving a raise for the first time in seven years to the least paid people in our society is something we should do,” Quirmbach said.

Republicans have said they are focused on economic growth that would increase wages, but cannot support a minimum wage increase. They argue an artificial wage increase would have a negative effect on jobs in Iowa.

Recent polling indicates Iowans are open to an increase. A Public Policy Polling poll conducted last year showed 53 percent of Iowans supported a minimum wage increase to $10.10 an hour. The increase has also been supported by national Democrats and President Obama. In total, 38 percent were against an increase in the PPP poll.

An Iowa poll conducted by the Des Moines Register last year showed 65 percent of Iowans supported a raise while 31 percent were against an increase.

The current federal minimum wage matches Iowa’s at $7.25 an hour. States surrounding Iowa, including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota all have minimum wages above $7.25 an hour.