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By William J. Ford
Washington Informer, Mar 3, 2019

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland inched closer to gradually increasing the state’s minimum hourly wage to $15 by 2025. The House of Delegates voted 96-44 Friday for the bill, which now goes to the Senate. ...

The state’s current minimum hourly wage stands at $10.10. Under the legislation approved Friday, it would increase to $11 by January 2020, then by 75 cents every year and finally by $1 to $15 by January 2025.

Several business leader and advocate groups are pleased with the House vote, but said it didn’t go far enough, citing a previous bill that proposed increasing the minimum hourly wage to $15 by 2023.

“We continue to hear from business organizations and business leaders across Maryland calling for an increase to $15 by 2023, and to indexing wages thereafter so the minimum wage keeps up with the cost of living rather than falling behind,” Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in a statement. “As the bill moves to the Senate, we assert that Maryland needs a stronger wage floor under the economy and a more robust increase makes good business sense now.”

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