DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has called for a single statewide minimum wage, rather than a hodgepodge of wages that vary by county, and a new Republican majority in the Legislature could give him a clear path to enact uniform pay rates. That worries some supporters of higher minimum wages who fear the state could couple an insignificant wage increase with a ban on local jurisdictions approving their own higher wages, as four counties have already done.

More than a dozen states have passed similar so-called pre-emption laws regarding minimum wage. Branstad said in October that a single minimum wage was better because businesses are being negatively affected. Some county officials say any legislation challenging local control must include a meaningful raise to the minimum wage.