AP photo The Pennsylvania state capitol is pictured in Harrisburg. Legislation has been introduced to increase the minimum wage in several steps through 2027.

The fight over a minimum wage increase will continue in the state Legislature.

Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia, and Rep. Patty Kim, D-Dauphin, have introduced legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour starting July 1; $12.50 an hour starting July 1, 2022; $13 an hour starting July 1, 2023; $13.50 on July 1, 2024; $14 an hour starting July 1, 2025; and finally reaching $15 an hour starting July 1, 2027. After then, the rate would be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. The legislation is co-sponsored by several Democrats. It has been referred to the Senate’s Labor and Industry Committee.

“Vital members of our community, such as child care and home health workers, bank tellers, construction workers, and retail and hospitality workers, who work full-time while making the minimum wage only earn $15,080 a year,” Tartaglione wrote. “These are some of the most fundamental jobs in our Commonwealth, yet because they earn our current minimum wage, they cannot afford basic necessities such as rent, transportation, food and prescriptions. Many are forced to rely on public assistance to get by. The inability of hard-working people to care for their basic needs, or those of their families, is morally wrong and economically unsound.”

Senate Bill 12 would also eliminate the state’s preemption on municipal wage ordinances which prevents cities from offering a minimum wage higher than the state’s minimum wage.

Tartaglione and Kim also propose allowing the state Department of Labor and Industry to recover wages and assign penalties for all violations of the minimum wage laws, giving the department the ability to act when no complaint has been filed. Penalties for wage theft would be increased, workers would be allowed to receive damages in addition to unpaid wages.

In addition, Senator Tartaglione’s legislation would eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tip-earners (which is currently set at $2.83 per hour)

Twenty-nine states have adopted minimum wages higher than the federal rate, including all six of Pennsylvania’s immediate neighbors. Nine states have adopted a $15 minimum wage.

“The level of support for these raises will only grow as consumer prices climb and it becomes harder for low-wage workers to make ends meet, and it becomes near-impossible for them to get ahead,” Senator Tartaglione said. “If New York, New Jersey, and Maryland can have a $15 minimum wage, and if Florida voters can approve a $15 minimum wage, surely Pennsylvania can do it.”

Gov. Tom Wolf has called repeatedly for an increase in the state’s minimum wage. In January, Bryan Cutler, R-Peach Bottom and House majority leader, said the state’s minimum wage is not a reflection on the wages being earned by workers in Pennsylvania.

Cutler also warned that studies have shown raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would lead to job losses and said Pennsylvania employers have more openings than qualified people to fill them.

“Pennsylvanians are earning more today than ever in our state’s history. According to Gov. Tom Wolf’s Department of Labor and Industry, the average wage in our state has increased by about 25% over the last 10 years,” Cutler said. “House Republican policies have paved the way for industries across Pennsylvania to increase wages at all levels of the employment spectrum. Today, you can walk into all kinds of businesses offering entry-level work, with no experience necessary, and find employment paying well above the minimum wage.”