Pennsylvania House passes $15 minimum wage bill

Pennsylvania’s Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved a measure that would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 in a close vote Tuesday, a long-held party campaign plank that has run up against Republican legislative majorities for years. The measure would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 by changing from $7.25 to $11 in its first year, then to $13 in 2025 and finally to $15 in 2026. The bill ties future increases to inflation, which sponsors say mirrors action taken by 15 other states. It has an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate.