On a party-line vote last week, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 55-45 to pass HB 395, a bill that will increase the current state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour to $15 by July 1, 2023. The legislation moved through the lower chamber at lightning legislative speed and is now pending in the state senate. HB395 increases the state minimum to $9.00 per hour effective July 1, 2020. Thereafter, it would rise an additional $2 per hour each year on July 1 until it reaches $15 an hour on July 1, 2023. A similar bill (SB 7) filed in the state senate increases the wage on a more gradual schedule, reaching $15 per hour on July 1, 2025. Although the House bill leaves the wage at $15/hour beyond 2023, SB7 provides for linking the $15 wage to the Consumer Price Index thereafter. With Virginia now a democratic trifecta state (Governor and both branches of the legislature being democrat-led), there is little drama other than the specifics as to what will happen moving forward – Virginia Governor Ralph Northam will sign whichever bill reaches his desk.