Senate Passes Bill To Raise Minimum Wage In Pennsylvania To $9.50

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Legislation to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage for the first time since 2009 is headed to the state House of Representatives, passed in the Senate against a deadline to stall Gov. Tom Wolf's regulatory package to substantially expand overtime pay eligibility.

The Republican-controlled Senate approved the bill Wednesday, 42-7, to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage in four steps to $9.50 in 2022.

Pennsylvania's current minimum wage is the federal minimum of $7.25, which lags each of its neighbors and most other states.

Its prospects in the Republican-controlled House are unclear.

The bill is far more modest than the immediate $12 minimum that Wolf proposed in January.

Another concession Wolf made in the agreement with Republican lawmakers is rescinding his proposed overtime regulation before a state rule-making board votes on it Thursday.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)