A House committee was reminded several times Monday afternoon that Missouri state employees are the nation's lowest-paid.
The Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee was asked to endorse two bills proposing to improve that ranking - Rep. Mike Bernskoetter's resolution to extend the life of the Joint Interim Committee on State Employee Wages for another two years and Rep. Paul Fitzwater's bill to require pay increases equal to the increased costs of health insurance premiums from the previous year.
The committee took no action on either bill Monday.
"I was reminded that the state has no money," Fitzwater, R-Potosi, said as he introduced his bill. "Neither do the state employees."