City wage boost?

A bill has been offered in Phila City Council (by Wilson Goode Jr.) that would set a high minimum wage for the city (150% of the state or federal minimum wage) for any company that does business with or gets substantial support from the city itself. An interesting narrow niche, but one that apparently has appeal, as 12 of the 17 councilmembers have signed onto the bill already. A striking contrast to attempts in 1998 to set a "living wage" for the city (sponsored by Angel Ortiz and David Cohen), which were unsuccessful -- perhaps the narrowness of the current measure protects the Council from the wrath of local businesses who might not be up for a $2.50 increase in their minimum wages.