PORTLAND, Maine (AP) The Maine supreme court says an $18-per-hour emergency minimum wage increase in Portland will not go into effect until next year.

The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday agreed with a Superior Court justice who validated the time-and-a-half hazard pay provision that was part of a minimum wage referendum approved by voters in November. But the judge ruled, and the supreme court agreed, that the change does not take effect until Jan. 1, 2022.

The provision for extra wages during a declared emergency like the pandemic was included in a minimum wage proposal that will increase that rate from $12 to $15 an hour by 2025.