The Montgomery County Council approved a bill Tuesday that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2020 but the measure faces an uncertain future.
The legislation passed on a narrow vote of 5-4. Several members said they believed the council was moving ahead too quickly.
“I’m concerned that we are literally on the verge of voting for a wide sweeping economic policy without the benefit of any economic data that involves the unique situation of Montgomery County,” said Councilmember Sidney Katz. “We need to accomplish raising the minimum wage by considering all aspects of our actions.”
The four members who voted against the bill were hoping to delay action on the minimum wage so the council could first study the effects of recent minimum wage hikes in the county as well as possible effects of further increases.
Although the minimum wage bill had enough votes to pass, it is not clear what will happen next.
For months, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has said he might veto the legislation because of possible negative impacts on the business community. However, he has said he could be open to supporting the idea if the wage increase were rolled out in 2022 rather than 2020.
Click here to read the rest of the story written by Nick Iannelli over at WTOP.