The Howard County Council decided Monday night to split the public hearing on a bill to gradually increase the county’s minimum wage to $16 by allowing those in person to speak and rescheduling the virtual speakers to present Wednesday evening.
Testimony on the bill began around 10:30 p.m. and went until a little after midnight as about 27 business owners and individuals explained to the council in 3-minute sessions why they did or did not support the bill.
Those in favor of the bill stressed the importance of a living wage — one that covers the basic necessities, like food and rent or mortgage — for residents. While a true living wage for Howard County would be around $22 an hour, the bill is a “major step forward,” according to Kelly Klinefelter, president of the Howard Progressive Project’s board of directors.
“For too long, most of us have enjoyed the vast prosperity of our American economy, but we have done that at the expense of 28% of our community, whose work is every bit essential as ours, as yours and mine, but doesn’t pay enough to cover the bills,” Klinefelter said.
If passed, the bill would incrementally raise the minimum wage for workers in Howard County to reach $16 an hour by 2026. Businesses with 15 or more employees would start at $14 an hour effective April 1, then increase to $15 in 2023 and $16 in 2025. Small businesses with fewer than 15 employees would start at $13 an hour April 1, then increase to $14 in 2023, $15 in 2024 and $16 in 2026. Howard...
(The Lion) — A Senate Democrat has proposed a bill to repeal the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, which passed in President Donald Trump’s budget bill last year. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, m...