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Wolf could secure minimum wage hike, with big concessions | TribLIVE.com
Pennsylvania

Wolf could secure minimum wage hike, with big concessions

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
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Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, left, and Gov. Tom Wolf shake hands before Wolf delivered his budget address for the 2017-18 fiscal year. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf addresses delegates on Thursday, July 28, 2016, the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
PennsylvaniaBudget53820jpg63e97
Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, left, and Gov. Tom Wolf shake hands before Wolf delivered his budget address for the 2017-18 fiscal year. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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REUTERS
Pennsylvania State Police salute as they line the streets outside St. Peters' Cathedral in Scranton on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014, as the casket carrying slain Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Corporal Bryon Dickson, 38, is carried into the cathedral for his funeral service.
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Steph Chambers | Tribune-Review
Governor Tom Wolf listens during a roundtable with state and local elected officials, law enforcement, health professionals, and advocates to discuss Pennsylvania’s opioid crisis on Friday, June 3, 2016, at St. Vincent College.

HARRISBURG — Years of pressure by Pennsylvania Democrats could yield a state minimum wage increase this year, although it likely will require substantial concessions in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing hiking the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $12. That would be the nation's highest. He is tying the proposal to his budget plan as a way to provide more tax revenue.

Some Republicans say a minimum wage increase could be acceptable, but at a much lower figure.

The federal government last raised the minimum in 2009, to $7.25 an hour. Since then, 29 states have raised theirs, including every state bordering Pennsylvania.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati says Congress should deal with the issue. But he says its lack of action is forcing states to act.