The federal minimum wage in the U.S. is cemented at $7.25 an hour – which Kansas has not budged from since 2009.

State Senator Cindy Holscher wants that to change with a bill that would boost the baseline across Kansas to $16 an hour.

Holscher tells KSAL News that Kansas is lagging behind.

Holscher added the measure is long overdue for minimum wage employees.

Some past efforts to raise the minimum wage in Kansas have had graduated plans that would raise the benchmark by a dollar a year until the proposed wage is reached.

Currently a full-time worker making a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour earns about $15,000 a year.