• Pennsylvania's Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that, if signed into law, would incrementally raise the state's minimum wage, reaching $15 per hour by 2026.
• The bill must still clear the state Senate, whose Republican majority leaves the bill's future uncertain.
• Pennsylvania's minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, the lowest allowed by federal law.

Pennsylvania's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved a measure by a close vote Tuesday that would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026, fulfilling a long-held party campaign plank that has run up against Republican legislative majorities for years.

The bill passed 103-100 with all but one Democrat voting for it and two Republicans joining them. But it has an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate as lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro increasingly focus on budget legislation ahead of the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.

Pennsylvania's minimum wage is set at the federal minimum of $7.25, and last increased in 2009.

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT TO HEAR MAJOR MINIMUM WAGE, PETITION DRIVE CASE

The measure would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 by changing from $7.25 to $11 in its first year, then to $13 in 2025 and finally to $15 in 2026. The bill ties future increases to inflation, which sponsors say mirrors action taken by 15 other states.

The legislation would also increase the tipped wage to 60% of the minimum wage from the current $2.83 an...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiU2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZveG5ld3MuY29tL3Bv...