Mass. Senate Considering Legislation To Raise Minimum Wage To $15 An Hour
BOSTON (CBS) -- Should Massachusetts join New York and California in raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour?
That's the question being discussed in the Massachusetts Senate, according to Senate President Stan Rosenberg.
"It's under active discussion in the Senate at this point," said Rosenberg. "We've discussed it both in caucus and at Senate leadership."
In 2014, legislators agreed to raise the minimum wage in the Commonwealth over a period of three years, which will mean an $11 an hour wage by next January. Now, Monday's decisions in New York and California to go to $15 an hour have sparked discussion about taking another look at the state's minimum wage.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh supports a $15 minimum wage in Boston and across Massachusetts. Walsh called income inequality a real problem in his State of the City address earlier this year, and announced a task force would be looking into a $15 an hour minimum wage. Walsh's office said Tuesday that the mayor hopes to have a recommendation from that task force later in 2016.
But both House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker say that a hike to $15 would be premature.
"There are a lot of elements to this discussion, and certainly the minimum wage is one," said Gov. Baker. "But I think Massachusetts is pursuing what I would describe as a multi-faceted approach to this, and that's the right way to go."
Rosenberg said to "stay tuned," as there are currently three variations of wage hike legislation pending before the Senate.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
