Maryland Gov. Hogan offers compromise for minimum wage hike

SALISBURY, Md. – Maryland Governor Larry Hogan proposed on Friday a compromise to the minimum wage bill.

The Governor said instead of raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2025, he only wants to see an added two dollars by the year 2022, a new total of $12.10.

“Of course you can’t live on $10.10 an hour, and I think that minimum wage jobs weren’t originally meant to be something that you live on,” said Delegate Carl Anderton.

“But, we’re on an economy where a lot of manufacturing jobs are gone, and they have been replaced and so people are finding themselves wherever they can to make a living,” said Anderton.

Even though some state legislators are pushing to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2025, Governor Hogan as well as some local business owners said it will most likely hurt profit.

“Your servers and service people are often here at 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning,” said Shirley Horne, the owner of Goin Nuts Cafe.

“There’s cleaning and getting ready after you close for an hour of two so you’re looking at often ten hour shifts and that’s a lot of shifts for $15 dollars an hour,” said Horne.

Delegate Anderton said despite the challenges that come with increasing the minimum wage a better living is needed, and that is where Governor Hogan’s compromise comes in.

“In the same breath we need to make sure that the single mother is able to earn a living so in that way she can be self-sufficient, so it’s a very tedious spot,” said Anderton.

The state Senate and House will now have to agree on a wage increase before sending it to the governor for the ultimate decision. 47ABC reached out to Democratic lawmakers for a statement on Sunday, but did not receive a reply.