Assemblyman Luis Alejo’s bill proposing a minimum wage increase passed through a key Senate committee Wednesday, but only after legislators removed a provision that would have attached the figure to the Consumer Price Index.
The Assembly in late May approved the bill in a 44-24 vote. A spokesman for the governor’s office at the time said Gov. Jerry Brown had not taken a position on the minimum wage bill.
As it stands, the bill from Alejo, D-Watsonville, would now increase the minimum wage from $8 to $10 by 2018 instead of taking the number to $9.25 with the CPI adjustments.
Alejo in a statement said the cost-of-living-adjustment provision was removed to help businesses.
According to Alejo in his statement: “The COLA has been removed in order to provide certainty to business owners. This bill clearly specifies the exact amount of each increase – as opposed to linking increases to fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index.”
The bill next heads to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
