New Year Brings Bump in Minimum Wage, Easier Access to Public Records

BOSTON (AP) - An increase in the minimum hourly wage and an overhaul of the state's public records law are the most notable laws taking effect in Massachusetts in the new year.

The minimum wage moves from $10 to $11 an hour on Sunday, putting a bit more cash into the wallets of more than 400,000 workers.

Massachusetts is among 19 states where the minimum wage is going up in 2017 as a result of new laws or cost-of-living allowances.

At $11 an hour, Massachusetts and Washington will share the highest minimum wage.

The public records law, approved earlier this year, aims to modernize what critics have decried as an outdated, frustrating and often expensive process for citizens trying to obtain documents that should be open to public inspection.