Maryland House, Senate Vote To Override Gov. Hogan's Veto Of $15 Minimum Wage
ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Maryland House and Senate both vote to override Gov. Hogan's vetoes of $15 minimum wage.
The House shot down Hogan's veto by a vote of 96-43, while the Senate voted 32-15 to override the veto.
Baltimore County Executive released a statement applauding the bill.
"Elected leaders should do all we can to support and affirm the dignity of work," said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. "I applaud the General Assembly for providing a responsible path to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, a much-needed win for working families in Baltimore County and beyond."
Supporters for the bill took to the Statehouse steps this morning.
Ricarra Jones spoke for the "Fight for 15" Drive.
"Yesterday, the governor turned his back on hundreds of thousands of working families in the state of Maryland by vetoing the $15 minimum wage bill," Jones said.
Gov. Hogan took that action because he believes a $15 an hour increase would cost jobs. But according to the bill's sponsor, Sen. Cory McCray, 'Most people think about these people as needing a handout, but I challenge them and say they need a hand up,"
Thursday afternoon, the House and Senate voted to override Hogan's veto, meaning workers making a minimum wage of $10 an hour now, will increase to $15 by 2025.
"We are obviously disappointed that the legislature completely ignored the governor's reasonable compromise proposal to protect jobs and small businesses. So much for olive branches," said Gov. Hogan's director of communications Michael Ricci.
Supporters of this bill include a number of county executives, including Angela Alsobrooks from Prince George's County.
"This bill doe snot anticipate that changes will happen overnight, but that they would be implemented over time. So we will be very sensitive to the concerns of our business communities," She said.
Some businesses already have a $15 minimum wage. Amazon adopted it last year.
Walmart is currently paying $11, Costco pays $14 and Target plans to go to $15 an hour by 2020.
Overriding Hogan's veto means his signature is not needed for the law to go into effect.
This story is developing.
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