Bill raising minimum wage advances to Va. House floor

[Doondoo]

Hours after being killed in subcommittee, a proposal to raise Virginia's minimum wage was revived Thursday and sent to the House of Delegates floor on a 12-9 vote.

Sen. Charles J. Colgan's bill would increase the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.50 per hour, effective July 1. The measure would expire if the federal minimum wage is raised to $6.50 or more. The full House will vote on the bill next week, the last week of the 46-day session.

"This is a significant day for the thousands of Virginians who work every day and aren't getting a decent wage," said House Democratic Caucus chairman Brian J. Moran of Alexandria, whose own minimum wage bill failed along with several others earlier in the session.

Colgan, D-Manassas, said a person working full time at minimum wage earns $10,712 annually - well below the $17,170 poverty level.



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