Many of Maryland's lowest-paid workers would receive a nearly 20 percent raise under legislation embraced yesterday by the state Senate that would lift the state's minimum wage $1 above the federal level.
The Senate voted 30 to 16, largely along party lines, to raise the wage requirement from $5.15 an hour to $6.15. The legislation would exempt employers who provide health benefits to low-wage workers from having to pay the full increase. A similar bill, without the exemption, is under consideration in the House of Delegates.
Rates Elsewhere
Jurisdictions mandating a minimum wage higher than $5.15 an hour:
Washington $7.35
Oregon $7.25
Alaska $7.15
Connecticut $7.10
Vermont $7.00
California $6.75
Massachusetts $6.75
Rhode Island $6.75
The District $6.60
Illinois $6.50
Maine $6.35
Hawaii $6.25
Delaware $6.15
Florida $6.15
New York $6.00
SOURCE: Maryland Department of Legislative Services
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Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), chairman of the Finance Committee, said the measure, which would affect about 55,300 Maryland workers, is long overdue and should enjoy broad public support.
"The average person knows how expensive it is to live, and $5.15 an hour just doesn't cut it," Middleton said.
Maggy Chang, 30, a bookkeeper who works for minimum wage at Tamarind Tea and Ginger shop in Rockville, said the measure could give her an extra $40 or so in weekly pretax income. She said she'd shop first for food and then clothes. The little extras -- a special cut of meat or exercise clothes -- aren't in her budget now.
"I would definitely go shopping," said Chang, who shares a Rockville apartment with two others. "And some would go for sports, like golfing. It costs too much now -- $15."
Although Democrats in the House leadership have voiced support for a wage increase, the bill would face a possible veto if it reached the desk of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).
"The governor has concerns about any bill that potentially would have a negative impact on small businesses, that would force them to limit their workforces," Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver said.
Senate Republicans have echoed that concern in recent days, although none spoke during yesterday's brief floor debate. The bill has also drawn opposition from the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, which has argued that the legislation, though well intentioned, would hurt struggling business owners.
During hearings on the bill, several business owners said they feared that employees making more than the minimum wage would also expect increases if the bill passed.
The provision affecting businesses that provide health benefits was added to the Senate version of the bill this week in an effort to make the legislation more "business-friendly," Middleton said. It would allow employers to deduct their share of health premium costs from workers' wages, resulting in an hourly payment of less than $6.15.
The margin of passage in the Senate yesterday would be sufficient to override a veto by Ehrlich.
"Hopefully, the governor will sign it into law, and if he doesn't, I think the votes will be there to override his veto," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert).
Currently, 14 states and the District have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum of $5.15, Maryland legislative analysts said. Virginia is not among them.
The federal minimum wage, which was first enacted in 1938, was last increased in 1997. Several bills introduced in Congress to raise the amount have failed in recent years.
The District joined three states last year in raising the minimum wage required within their borders. The city's wage climbed from $6.15 to $6.60, beginning this January.
Voters in Florida and Nevada, meanwhile, passed ballot initiatives last year raising their minimum wage, drawing the support of 70 percent and 68 percent of voters, respectively. New York lawmakers overrode a veto last year by Gov. George E. Pataki (R) to raise the minimum wage incrementally to $7.15 in the next two years.
Nationally, about two-thirds of minimum-wage earners work in service industries, the U.S. Department of Labor said. Slightly more than half are younger than 25, and about two-thirds are women.
An hourly wage of $5.15 translates into $10,712 a year for a full-time worker.
Staff writer Jennifer Lenhart contributed to this report.
