Proposed Ballot Measure Would Increase Minimum Wage
Sacramento, CA — California voters may be asked whether to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15-an-hour.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla announces that proponents of a ballot initiative were cleared to begin collecting the needed signatures to place the issue before voters this coming November. For businesses that have 26 or more employees, the minimum wage would gradually increase to $15 by July of 2020. For those with 25 employees or less, the increase would gradually happen by July of 2021.
The impact it would have on state revenues is unclear, and is based on how the economy would respond to the change. When referencing local and state tax revenue, the Secretary of State’s Office reports that it could result in a loss of “hundreds of millions of dollars,” or on the other hand, it could increase tax revenues “over a billion dollars.”
The proponents need to collect 365,880 signatures of registered voters in order for it to qualify for the ballot.
