Living Wage Veto Override Fails
Tuesday, January 18, 2005(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The Maryland General Assembly failed last week to override Governor
Ehrlich's veto of legislation to establish a state living wage law, though it
did overturn his veto of the proposed Equal Pay Commission. Because the living
wage vote failed in the Senate, it did not come before the House of Delegates
where it had been expected to pass with a comfortable margin. Senate President
Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach claimed the living
wage bill did not make sense for poorer areas of the state. Instead, he said he
would sponsor at least a $1 hike in the minimum wage for all workers, to $6.15
an hour.