JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri lawmakers are taking action to block a health department rule that would increase wages for home care attendants.
The House voted Wednesday on a measure blocking the wage hike after a similar vote by the Senate. The measure now heads to Gov. Jay Nixon.
Lawmakers want to stop a proposed Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services rule that would raise the pay for home care attendants from the $7.65 an hour to a range between $8.50 and $10.15.
The workers care for aging Missourians and others who can't care for themselves.
Some lawmakers say a wage hike should be up to the Legislature, and that the agency doesn't have the authority to give those workers raises.