Advocates for workers handed out bags of peanuts with the state minimum wage of .65 per hour printed on the bag.

Topeka ? Several House members Thursday questioned whether any Kansan earned as little as the state minimum wage of $2.65 per hour.

During a hearing on a bill to increase the state minimum wage, state Rep. Scott Schwab, R-Olathe, noted no one getting paid that amount testified to the committee.

Schwab said he would pay anyone making the state minimum wage their lost wages and mileage to take time off from work and talk to the House Commerce and Labor Committee.

State Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, however, said people earning that amount don’t have the time to testify to a legislative committee.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20,000 Kansans make less than the federal minimum wage. Businesses that don’t engage in interstate commerce are exempt from the federal minimum.

Jake Lowen, with the Raise the Wage campaign, said the statistics that focus on who earns below the federal minimum wage should be trusted because they come from the same federal data that reports unemployment rates.

Senate Bill 160 would increase the $2.65 per hour state minimum to $7.25 per hour on Jan. 1, 2010, which will be the federal minimum as of July 24.

Last month, the Senate approved SB 160, 33-7.

But before the House committee, the proposal was met with skepticism by several lawmakers.

Chairman Steven Brunk, R-Belaire, asked Kansas Department of Labor Secretary Jim Garner to return to the committee with more salary data.

“There are such differing opinions on this,” Brunk said.

Business groups have opposed the measure, saying the state should abolish the state minimum wage and let the market determine pay.

Earlier, Secretary Garner said the state’s $2.65 per hour minimum was “an embarrassing stigma.”

It is the lowest among the 45 states that have a state minimum wage, and it hasn’t been increased since 1988.

At a rally before the hearing, advocates for workers and several legislators urged passage of the bill.

“It’s time for the House to see this through to the finish line,” said House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence.

Rep. Stan Frownfelter, D-Kansas City, Kan., said, as he choked up with emotion, “It’s time these proud and hard-working people of Kansas get their just due.”