Local governments in Colorado could get the option to raise the minimum wage. That could help some of the state’s resort communities, when the cost of living exceeds the ability to find employees.

The current state minimum wage is $11.10 an hour.

The Democratic-led Senate gets a crack at House Bill 1210 after Democrats in the House gave it a 40-24 sendoff Monday.

Similar bills have failed in the upper-chamber in the past, but Democrats re-took the Senate majority in November.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Summit County Commissioner Thomas Davidson supported the bill with testimony in committee.

“Our state is so diverse, and what works for Denver is not necessarily going to work for Greeley or Trinidad,”  Rep. Rochelle Galindo, D-Greeley, said in a statement released by House Democrats. 

“The Local Wage Option is a tool that can help Colorado’s workers and communities thrive.”

Another bill sponsor, Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, said the bill is “really about allowing local communities to decide what is best for them.”