Commentary on the minimum wage, and a discussion of legislation for the coming year continues to trickle in from various political sources in Maryland.

As reported in the Capital Gazette, many Democrats, including Governor Martin O’ Malley, U.S. Representative John Delaney, and State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., have come out for hiking the state’s $7.25 per hour minimum wage, but any bill introduced to do so in the next General Assembly session must overcome staunch opposition from an unconvinced committee and the small-business community.  As described,

Kathleen Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday a wage hike would add to the already-onerous mandates on small businesses. “Our concern is with these small businesses who are still recovering from the recession, who are still dealing with the impacts of sequestration … and are still concerned about how the Affordable Health Care Act will impact them,” Snyder said.

For more information, see the full story from the Gazette.

As reported in the Baltimore Sun, Governor Martin O’Malley told a group of more than 100 state business leaders last Friday that he wanted raise the state’s minimum wage.  At the same event, Senator  Edward J. Kasemeyer, Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee, predicted the legislature will tackle a suite of economic issues next year.  According to the Sun,

He ticked off minimum wage, corporate tax rates, saving for college and retirement tax incentives as part of a “package process.”

“All these things we need to deal with in the near future,” Kasemeyer said.

For more information, see the full full story from the Baltimore Sun and our previous post on Conduit Street, Wage Issues Gathering Attention in Maryland.