March 18th, 2014 by WCBC Radio
With a little more than three weeks to go in the 2014 session of the Maryland General Assembly, a bill to increase the minimum wage has yet to emerge from a Senate committee, and the chairman isn't sure when that might happen. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mac Middleton told WBAL his committee has been holding work sessions on the issue, and one more is scheduled for this Wednesday. Last week, the House of Delegates approved a modified version of the bill Governor Martin O'Malley wanted. The bill raises the minimum wage gradually from $7.25 to $10.10-an-hour by January, 2017. The governor had wanted the increase to take effect in July, 2016. The House also took out language that would have increased the minimum wage for tipped workers, and would have automatically tied increases in the minimum wage after 2017, to the inflation rate. Middleton says senators are considering raising the minimum wage to $10.10, but over a much longer period. He also says senators are considering a smaller increase in the minimum wage, to perhaps $8.25-an-hour, along with an increase in the earned income tax credit.
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