Baltimore Council Advances $15 Minimum Wage Bill

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- On Monday night, the Baltimore City Council gave preliminary approval to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 by 2022, according to our media partners at The Baltimore Sun.

The council was in favor of the bill 12-3, which still needs one more vote before it advances all the way Mayor Catherine Pugh's desk.

Pugh pledged she would support the increased wage during her campaign.

Last year, the council rejected a similar bill, but November's election put more council members who are in support of the bill into office.

The current state minimum wage is $8.75 per hour, set to rise to $10.10 an hour by 2018.

The bill would make Baltimore's minimum wage the highest in the state, would exempt workers under 21 from the wage hike and would give businesses with fewer than 50 employees until 2026 to comply, The Sun reports.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook