Nick Reisman reports in New York State of Politics that Democrats in the New York legislature want some sort of minimum wage increase in the state. budget this year. They just have not agreed on the size and scale of the increase. Currently, the minimum wage is $15 an hour in the New York City area and $14.20 north of Westchester County. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, "We didn't say a specific rate... But we do know we need to raise the wages of the lowest paid New Yorkers and then begin the indexing. So we'll be discussing what that is, but I think it's very, very important." Indexing means automatically increasing the minimum wage when inflation rises. Ultimately, representatives from the state Senate and Assembly will negotiate the increase with Gov. Kathy Hochul. The state budget is due April 1. Read the full story in New York State of Politics.