Lawmakers Strike Deal on Family Leave, Sales tax, Minimum Wage

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts lawmakers have approved a compromise bill that could keep three hotly contested questions off the November ballot.

The House passed the measure on a 126-25 vote Wednesday. The Senate followed, approving the bill by a 30-8 tally. The votes are enough to override a gubernatorial veto, although Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has pushed for what he called a “grand bargain.”

The measure would allow up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for all workers and gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

It would also require the state to hold a sales tax holiday every summer, but does not include a proposal by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts to reduce the tax from 6.25 percent to 5 percent that could cost the state $1.2 billion annually.