Mayor Vetoes Higher Minimum Wage in Baltimore City, MD

Submitted by Shannon Gahs, Associate Director, MD Government Affairs (GAO)

The Baltimore City Council voted last Monday to increase the minimum wage in steps to $15 by 2022.  The newly-elected Mayor of Baltimore, former state Senator Catherine Pugh, supported an increased minimum wage during her campaign.  In a surprise change of heart on Friday, March 24, she vetoed the bill citing an unanticipated budget shortfall, schools budget deficit and new costs for police oversight since she took office.  The increase would have cost the city an additional $116 million in wages over the next four years.  City councilmembers do not have the votes to override Pugh’s veto.