A bill raising Maryland's minimum wage to $15 per hour will go to Gov. Larry Hogan's desk after the General Assembly passed the measure on Thursday.
The Senate and House, which had both already passed bills with some differences, reached a compromise and approved the recommendations of a conference committee. Hogan, a Republican, needs to sign the legislation before it becomes law. Hogan, who has spoken against raising the minimum wage to $15 because of the potential negative impact on businesses, could veto the bill. Because the bill was passed with more than six days left in the General Assembly's legislative session, Hogan must act on it with enough time for the Democratic majority General Assembly to override a potential veto. Hogan said in a March 18 press conference that increasing the minimum wage to $15 will "devastate" Maryland's economy by causing the state to lose 99,000 jobs $61 billion over a decade.