Here’s one example of state service contracts going up as a result of the living wage law passed last year. An analysis (PDF) of the Comptroller’s budget highlights a significant increase in the cost of bringing in temporary employees during tax season.

The cost of that contract will increase by $760,000 because of the living wage, according to the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services. The living wage requires contractors working on many state contracts to pay their employees $11.30 an hour for contracts performed in Baltimore City and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. The rate is $8.50 in all other counties.

The bill was not expected to have a substantial effect on contract costs, as Dori Berman reported for The Daily Record last year.

This one budget increase doesn’t say much, but it will be worth watching other budgets to see if there are any more living wage-linked cost increases.

It looks like we’ll find out soon how effective the state’s living wage law will be. The law, passed during last year’s spring session of the General Assembly, took effect in October, but is still being implemented. It mandates that many state contractors pay what the state considers a sufficient wage to their employees.

That wage is $11.30 in metropolitan areas like Baltimore or $8.50 in more rural parts of the state.

In February, the state regulations on how the law will be put in place can become final after months of discussion.

This means state service contractors (with contracts over $500,000 or with more than 10 employees) will have to certify, among other things:

-How much they are paying their employees

-Whether the employees have health insurance, and whether they agreed to reduce their pay to offset the cost of the coverage.

Are you preparing to make these reports to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation? Are you ready? Talk to me about your experience with the living wage law.

Find more information about the living wage law here.