DOVER, Del.- A bill gradually hiking the minimum wage in Delaware to $15 appears to be off the table -- for this year.
The bill advanced by a committee last week for a full vote but has been assigned an additional committee hearing with the Senate Finance Committee. The measure will cost the state as much as $1.6 million as the cost to pay state workers increases.
As of Monday night, a Thursday agenda for the committee did not list the bill on it.
Senate President Pro Tem Dave McBride (D-New Castle) also indicated to reporters last week the bill will likely not be voted on this late in the session.
Last year, Democrats rammed through a last-minute bill to raise the minimum wage in Delaware to $9.25, prompting Republicans to withhold votes needed for the capital budget.
The lack of Republican support prompted the failure of the capital budget and a stalemate that last until the morning hours when the bond bill was finally passed after a compromise to create a training wage was eventually reached.