HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A Pennsylvania State Senator says he plans to introduce a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

State Senator Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) says Pennsylvanians should have a voice as to whether the minimum wage should increase.

Sen. Fontana says his proposal would ask the voters if they approve raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 starting on January 1, 2025.

The proposed legislation would also require the state’s minimum wage to be adjusted to inflation each year.

“I hope you will consider joining me in co-sponsoring this import piece of legislation that has the potential to grant thousands of working Pennsylvanians the opportunity to earn a living-wage,” said Fontana to his colleagues.

For Pennsylvania to pass a constitutional amendment, the bill would have to pass in the legislature and be advertised to Pennsylvania voters by the Department of State at least three months before the next election for voters to consider the law.

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage currently matches the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour. Neighboring New York has a $14.20 minimum wage, although that changes depending on where you are in the state.

Twenty states currently match the federal minimum wage, including five states that do not have a state minimum wage.

New Jersey is also nearly twice as high at $14.13 an hour and Ohio is $10.10 an hour. West Virginia is currently at $8.75 an hour, Maryland at $13.25 an hour, and Delaware is at $11.75 an hour.