State Senate Passes Bill to Raise Minimum Wage

Recently, California State Senate voted 21-12 to raise the state’s minimum wage to at least $13 per hour by 2017. The bill would also require the minimum wage to be automatically adjusted for inflation annually beginning in 2018. The adjustments would be calculated using the California Consumer Price Index and reductions in the minimum wage would be prohibited if inflation is negative in any given period. California Partnership (CAP) Director Vanessa Aramayo said, “An increase in California’s minimum wage is long overdue as it is lower than it was in 1965 when adjusted for inflation. SB 935 will reduce the number of Californians living in poverty, reduce the number of people going hungry, and increase economic activity in our communities that have been hardest hit by the economic recession and stagnation of wages.” A recent report by Human Impact Partners cites a study that predicts a minimum wage of $13 would help reduce the record high income gap that exists in California today. The study predicts that the income of 7.6 million Californians in families in the lowest quarter of income distribution would rise while the net income of the top 75% of households would not change. California Partnership is a statewide coalition of community-based groups, organizing and advocating for the policies and programs that work to reduce and end poverty.