As reported by the Herald Media, State delegates and County elected officials recently testified in support of a bill that would allow county governments to set their own minimum wages, and would provide for enforcement of county-set minimum wages. HB 293 would authorize a county to establish a minimum wage rate for employees working in the county and if the county in which an employee is working has not established a minimum wage, then the minimum wage for that employee is the federal minimum wage. MACo submitted testimony in support of the HB293.
The legislation received support from several counties in Maryland in addition to MACo, as reported by the Herald Mail. The legislation’s House sponsor, Delegate Parrott described his legislation a “county choice bill,” and as “a good compromise that is being supported by several jurisdictions across the state.” As described by the Herald Mail,
That includes formal letters of support from Washington, Allegany, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil and Harford counties, according a news release from Parrott’s office.
Parrott’s bill has also been endorsed by the Maryland Association of Counties and the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce.
“Minimum wage autonomy allows county governments to create a working standard that best suits their communities,” according to written testimony from MACo.
For more information, read the full story from the Herald Mail or watch the testimony online; testimony on this bill starts at 2:19.
