Pennsylvania House approves boost in hourly minimum wage to $15

(The Center Square) – The Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House on Tuesday voted to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 over a period of years, advancing one of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s priority issues and setting up yet another face-off with the Republican-controlled Senate.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jason Dawkins of Philadelphia, passed on a 104-95 vote and now will be considered by the Senate.

A similar bill passed the House last session but stalled in the Senate Labor & Industry Committee, led by Allegheny County Republican Sen. Devlin Robinson. Asked for comment Wednesday, Robinson did not endorse or reject the House action. But, he said he supported “finding a reasonable, middle ground increase to the minimum wage.”

At the same time, Robinson said he also supported advancing policies that give people the “ability to earn a maximum wage” and not have...