http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2007/05/maryland_first_to_have_living.html

Maryland First to Have 'Living Wage' Law
John Wagner

Maryland today became the first state in the nation to require government contractors to pay their employees significantly better than the minimum wage, under legislation signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).

The "living wage" measure, which was passed last month by the General Assembly, requires companies working in the Washington-Baltimore corridor to pay $11.30 an hour. For those doing work in more rural counties, the floor is $8.50 an hour.

The bill was among more than 200 signed by O'Malley today at the third in a series of ceremonies since the session's end. Other measures signed today freeze university tuition in the fall and offer Maryland's apology for its participation in the slave trade. O'Malley has yet to veto any bills but voiced concerns again today about one which would make twice-convicted drug dealers eligible for parole.

The "living wage" bill, which advocates have pushed for nearly a decade, says to state contract workers that "we are going to treat you in a fair and just and decent way," O'Malley said.

A similar measure was passed by the legislature in 2004 but vetoed by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), who argued that it would drive up the price of state contracts significantly. Republicans made similar arguments during the recently concluded session.

But advocates pointed to studies from localities around the country showing only modest cost increases.

Del. Tom Hucker (D-Montgomery), a major backer of the bill, said that higher productivity and less turnover among workers offset employers' cost of paying higher wages.

"The important thing is we're lifting people up and helping hard-working families," Hucker said. He estimated that 50,000 workers could be affected by the bill.


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Another reason I need to move to Virginia.

HAHAHAHA!

This is gonna fuck up their economy so bad.

yeah it's going to be interesting to see how this works out.

How is this different from other states who have a higher minimum wage than the federally mandated one?

Well, for starters, this isn't minimum wage. Second, it only applies to state contractors.

Basically, this is an anti-road weapon. There is a large road planned, called the ICC, between I270 and I95 north of DC, approx. 10 and 2 on a clock. The road will be used to relieve traffic on what is ranked the third worst commute in the nation by moving traffic 10 miles north of the DC border. New highways are completely unacceptable to Maryland's Green sect, which holds quite a bit of power in the state. This wage increase is how O'Malley is going to cut the ICC, without actually appearing to cut the ICC.

The other effects will be interesting. Suddenly, everyone carrying trash out of a state building will be making $11.30/hour. Hmmm.... wonder where all that money would come from.... Hmmm....

Stupid populist idea, for real.

My economic knowledge is relatively limited so I am just going to ask a question here:

I would've thought that if people are going to be paid more money per hour that this would help to stimulate the economy because it puts more money in the hands of the workers to spend. I can understand that there might be inflationary issues but we are talking only 50,000 people out of how many?