Bronx State Sen. Jeff Klein announced this morning that he is introducing a bill in the Senate to raise the state’s minimum wage, a version of which was first introduced in the State Assembly last week by Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Klein, who broke from the Senate Democrats last year, is currently the head of a four-person Independent Democratic Conference. Most Republicans oppose the idea of a wage hike.

If passed, the bill would raise the minimum wage required in New York to $8.50 an hour, up from the current $7.25, and would tie the minimum wage to the rate of inflation.

“New York is failing to live up to its tradition as a progressive leader as long as this state’s minimum wage remains stagnant,” Klein said in a statement.

“Living on $290 a-week is virtually impossible in this state, yet that’s what thousands upon thousands of New Yorkers are struggling to do each day. I believe we can do better as a state and as a society.”

Mayor Bloomberg came out in support of a minimum wage hike in his State of the City speech last month, and several Bronx elected officials have expressed their support for it.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., compared it to the ‘Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act,’ which he and a number of other local officials have been pushing in the City Council, which would require higher wages for those directly employed by city developers that receive tax breaks and public subsidies.

Both bills “work together toward the common goal of improving the quality of life of New York City residents,” Diaz said.

“A little extra money in the pocket of these struggling families will help keep them afloat by putting food on the table, keeping the heat on through the winter, and paying the rent,” he added.