On January 1, the minimum wage will increase for many in Maryland from $13.25 an hour to $15 an hour.

Signed in April by Governor Wes Moore, the Fair Wage Act accelerates the time frame in which the minimum wage increases.

In 2019, the Maryland General Assembly initially approved a bill that increased the minimum wage for large companies to $15 an hour by 2025 and smaller companies by 2026. However, the bill was vetoed by then-governor Larry Hogan before the Democratically-held legislative body overturned his veto.

Four years later, the Moore-backed legislation makes Maryland’s minimum wage $15 an hour starting January 1, 2024.

Advocates applauded the move when it was signed into law earlier this year.

“It didn’t make a lot of sense that Maryland was going to get to $15 … slower than a place like Nebraska where cost of living is just considerably less,” Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, told Maryland Matters earlier this year.

Some Maryland business owners have argued that increasing the minimum wage could risk their ability to stay in business while also encouraging other owners to open in lower-paying states, like Virginia.

In Montgomery County, local law already requires many companies to pay their employees at least $15 an hour. The county enacted a law in July that requires large companies (51 or more employees) to pay employees at least $16.70 an hour and mid-sized companies (between 11 and 50 employees) to pay $15 an hour.

The new state law will impact Montgomery County companies that have fewer than 11 employees. Those companies will now be required to pay their employees $15 an hour instead of the previously mandated $14.50, six months sooner than county law had originally called for. The county’s minimum wage will also be annually adjusted for inflation.

Last week, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich called the statewide $15 minimum wage “an important milestone.”