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Minimum Wage Bill Out of MD Committe, But With Changes

Don Rush

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A Maryland Senate panel has made some substantial changes to a measure to raise the state's minimum wage.

The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill Wednesday.

In one of the biggest changes, community-based workers who work with the developmentally disabled would get paid more over several years in order to keep their pay above minimum wage.

The measure also has been changed in how the minimum wage increase will be phased in over several years. Under the Senate panel's changes, the minimum wage would reach $10.10 in July of 2018. In a bill passed by the House of Delegates, the $10.10 rate would be reached in 2017.

The Senate panel also decided to keep the law unchanged with regard to tipped workers.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.