The Pennsylvania minimum wage bill currently in play is House Bill 2189, which would raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour in three steps by 2029. The House passed it on March 24, 2026, by a vote of 104-95, and it has been sitting in the Senate Labor and Industry Committee since March 30 with no hearings held and no vote scheduled.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. House Bill 2189
What HB 2189 Would Do
The bill takes a simple, statewide approach. The minimum wage would rise to $11 an hour on January 1, 2027, to $13 on January 1, 2028, and to $15 on January 1, 2029. Starting in 2030, the rate would adjust annually based on the Consumer Price Index.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. HB 2189 Fiscal Note
Tipped workers would also see a raise. Their minimum wage, currently $2.83 an hour, would be set at 60 percent of the applicable standard minimum. And the bill includes a county option: after December 31, 2026, individual counties could mandate a wage higher than the state floor, up to $15 an hour.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. HB 2189 Fiscal Note
HB 2189 does not repeal Pennsylvania’s 2006 preemption law, which bars municipalities from setting their own higher rates. That means Philadelphia and other cities still cannot go above whatever the state sets.3Spotlight PA. Minimum Wage Pennsylvania House Senate
Who Would Be Affected
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, and the state hasn’t actively raised it since 2006. Every bordering state now has a higher floor: New York ranges from $16 to $17 by county, New Jersey is at $15.92, Maryland and Delaware are at $15, Ohio’s standard rate is $11, and even West Virginia is at $8.75.4U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wage by State
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has documented more than 500,000 workers earning under $15 an hour, including roughly 42,900 earning the current minimum or less.5Pennsylvania Independent. Pennsylvania House Passes Bill to Increase State Minimum Wage to $15 by 2029 Advocacy groups estimate that around 1.34 million workers, or about 21 percent of the state workforce, would see a pay bump under a $15 minimum once spillover raises for workers slightly above the new floor are counted.6Penn Policy. Seven Myths About Raising the Minimum Wage Debunked
Where the Bill Stands in the Senate
HB 2189 was referred to the Senate Labor and Industry Committee on March 30, 2026.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. House Bill 2189 The committee is chaired by Senator Devlin Robinson, a Republican from Senate District 37.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Senate Committee on Labor and Industry
Senate Democrats have tried to force movement. On June 10, 2026, Senator Art Haywood and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa led a rally calling for a floor vote, with Haywood declaring, “We have the votes. We demand a vote.”8PA Senate Democrats. Senate and House Democrats Call on Senate Republicans to Take Up House Bill 2189 Costa filed a discharge petition, a procedural tool that would pull the bill from committee, though such petitions rarely succeed against majority opposition.9Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Senate Democrats Minimum Wage Legislation
The House has now passed minimum wage legislation three separate times without Senate action.10Governor of Pennsylvania. PA House Passes Bill to Increase Minimum Wage Costa has said that if HB 2189 doesn’t move this budget cycle, it will remain a top priority through the fall session, the midterms, and into 2027.9Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Senate Democrats Minimum Wage Legislation
What Supporters and Opponents Say
Representative Jason Dawkins, the bill’s sponsor, framed it as a response to an “affordability crisis” driven by rising costs for housing, food, and child care. He called Pennsylvania’s stagnant wage “embarrassing” and cited research indicating that minimum wage increases do not lead to widespread job losses or business closures.11Pennsylvania Capital-Star. PA House Passes Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $15 by 2029 Governor Josh Shapiro, who has included a $15 wage in every budget proposal since taking office, argued the increase would boost consumer spending, reduce employer turnover, and save the state millions in Medicaid costs.10Governor of Pennsylvania. PA House Passes Bill to Increase Minimum Wage In his 2025 budget address, Shapiro called the $7.25 rate “too damn low.”12Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Shapiro Proposes $51.5 Billion Budget
House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler urged a “no” vote, arguing the increase would eliminate jobs, reduce hours, and hurt vulnerable workers, including people with disabilities, those reentering society after incarceration, individuals in recovery, and teenagers entering the workforce. He also said raising the tipped minimum would push up menu prices, discourage tipping, and reduce servers’ take-home pay, noting that full-service restaurant servers already earn an average of $27 an hour with tips included. Cutler called the minimum wage “a starting point for those entering the workforce” that was “never intended to be a living wage.”13PA House Republicans. Minimum Wage
Fiscal Projections
The Independent Fiscal Office estimated that a $15 minimum wage would give an average raise of $1.94 an hour to roughly 684,000 workers, while producing about 15,600 job losses and 11,800 fewer part-time positions. The IFO projected a net annual General Fund revenue gain of about $50 million, roughly 37 percent below the Shapiro administration’s estimate of more than $80 million, because the IFO accounts for offsets like reduced corporate tax collections. Consumers, the IFO found, would absorb about 60 percent of increased labor costs through higher prices.14Commonwealth Foundation. Minimum Wage Fact Sheet
The House Appropriations Committee fiscal note for HB 2189 projected General Fund revenue of $9.9 million in the first fiscal year, rising to $85.8 million by 2029-30, the first full year at $15. The analysis also estimated Medical Assistance savings of roughly $14 million at $11 an hour, $18 million at $13, and $29.3 million at $15, partially offset by an estimated $85.2 million in additional wage costs by 2029 for service providers like home care agencies employing personal care aides.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. HB 2189 Fiscal Note
Policy analysts on both sides have flagged the “benefits cliff”: some workers earning a higher wage could lose eligibility for public benefits like SNAP if income thresholds are not adjusted alongside the wage increase.5Pennsylvania Independent. Pennsylvania House Passes Bill to Increase State Minimum Wage to $15 by 2029
Other Bills in Play
HB 2189 isn’t the only wage proposal. Senator Christine Tartaglione introduced Senate Bill 19 in early 2025, which would move faster and further: $15 by 2026, a tipped wage set at 70 percent of the standard minimum rather than 60 percent, cost-of-living adjustments, and a repeal of the 2006 preemption law that blocks local wage ordinances.15PA Senate Democrats. Senator Tartaglione Introduces Senate Bill 19
On the Republican side, Senator Dan Laughlin of Erie has proposed raising the statewide rate to $11 over three years, criticizing tiered approaches as a “patchwork.”16Pennsylvania Capital-Star. A GOP State Senator Wants to Raise Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage to $11 Per Hour Laughlin’s bill has also not advanced to a vote.
What Happens Next
Shapiro has signaled he will sign a minimum wage increase if the Senate passes one. His 2026-27 budget calls for $15 an hour for non-tipped workers and $9 for tipped workers, effective January 1, 2027.17Penn Policy. What You Need to Know About the Minimum Wage in PA Whether Senate Republican leadership allows a vote during the current budget cycle, negotiates a lower figure closer to Laughlin’s $11, or continues to block the bill will decide whether Pennsylvania’s minimum wage changes for the first time in nearly two decades.