BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana lawmakers have voted to keep the state minimum wage as low as possible under federal law and spurned a proposal to make state contractors pay men and women equally.

The House labor committee Thursday first killed a bill forcing companies with state contracts to pay male and female employees doing similar jobs the same amount. It then voted down a measure that would establish a minimum wage of $15 an hour.

New Orleans Rep. Joe Bouie sponsored both bills. He says Louisiana is endorsing discrimination by not mandating equal pay from state contractors.

He also said the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is insufficient. Opponents say most employers can't pay $15 and existing laws already ensure equal pay. The Senate rejected similar proposals Tuesday.