Posted on 05/26/2004 8:38:42 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's minimum wage would climb to $7.75 an hour under legislation that was approved by the state Assembly on Wednesday, an increase supporters said would still leave roughly 1 million workers with poverty-level pay.
The measure by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Santa Clara, would raise the wage from $6.75 to $7.25 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2005, and to $7.75 on Jan. 1, 2006.
It was sent to the Senate by a 45-29 vote.
The bill's supporters said the other West Coast states have higher minimum wages than California and the minimum wages in Oregon and Washington increase with inflation. California's minimum wage would have to be $8.92 an hour if it were tied to the cost of living.
Washington's minimum wage is $7.16, Alaska's is $7.15 and Oregon's is $7.05. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.
"You try to live on $6.75 an hour, even $7 or $8 an hour," said one of the bill's supporters, Assemblyman Manny Diaz, D-San Jose. "In my (district) nobody can live on anything less than $15 an hour. That's why many wage earners have two jobs."
But opponents contended that forcing up wages would result in higher prices and actually harm low-wage families.
"The free market does work and we do have startup jobs," said Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark. "Not every job in California is supposed to be able to provide for a family of four."
However, Lieber said most minimum-wage workers are their families' major wage earners and that keeping the wage low means higher costs for government programs for the poor. "When wages are kept low, taxpayers make up the difference."
Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, taunted the bill's supporters, saying if they followed the courage of their convictions they would propose a minimum wage of $20 an hour.
"Twenty dollars an hour is $40,000 a year," he said. "That's what we should be paying everybody regardless of what their education is, what their skill level is. We in government can make that happen by ordering people to do it. They will either do it or go out of business. They will either do it or move out of this state."
Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said increasing the minimum wage would help the economy by giving low-wage workers more money to spend. "Let's make work rewarding. Let's allow people to support themselves and their families."
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On the Net: Read the bill, SB2832, at www.assembly.ca.gov
A look at some of the bills that were voted on Wednesday by the California Legislature. Friday is the deadline for bills to pass their house of origin:
BUSINESS:
- Banks would be prohibited from charging fees to cash paychecks issued by one of the bank's clients, saving money for low-income residents without bank accounts. SB1904, by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, passed the Senate 27-10. It goes to the Assembly.
- Cell phone retailers would have to establish a recycling program that keeps old phones out of landfills. AB2901, by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, was passed 41-31 by the Assembly. It goes to the Senate.
CONSUMERS:
- The Assembly approved a bill that would allow products, such as some athletic shoes, that are made from kangaroos not listed as endangered species to be sold legally in California. AB2915, by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-South Gate, was approved 52-5. It goes to the Senate.
- Consumers could learn if a telemarketer or call center they do business with was based overseas under AB2715 by Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, D-Fresno. It was approved 42-29 by the Assembly. It goes to the Senate.
DEVELOPMENT:
- A bill by Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, would allow two-thirds of the property owners in deteriorating apartment neighborhoods to form multifamily "improvement districts" to assess themselves to pay for graffiti removal, upgraded landscaping and extra security and lighting. SB1404 passed the Senate 21-8. It goes to the Assembly.
- Transportation authorities in San Diego, Santa Clara, Los Angeles and Monterey counties could begin pilot projects to build highways designed and constructed by the same companies. SB1793, by Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, passed the Senate 22-11. It goes to the Assembly.
EDUCATION:
- A bill by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-South Gate, would allow the University of California and California State University to consider race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, geographic origin and income in admitting students but would not allow the schools to grant preferences based on those factors. The Assembly's 43-24 vote moved the bill, AB2387, to the Senate.
- A bill by the late Sen. Pete Knight, R-Palmdale, would remove limits on the number of charter schools that could be approved in California. Current law allows no more than 100 new charter schools yearly. SB1531 passed the Senate 21-7. It moves to the Assembly.
FIREARMS:
- The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, to make it a misdemeanor to store a handgun where a child can easily find it. The legislation also would make it either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on circumstances, to store a firearm in the same place as ammunition for the gun. SB1140 passed 23-12. It moves to the Assembly.
HEALTH:
- A bill by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, would require the Department of Health Services to set up a state Web site to help Californians buy cheaper prescription drugs through Canadian pharmacies. The Assembly's 48-17 vote sent the bill, AB1957, to the Senate.
- The Senate passed a bill by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, establishing the Healthy Californians Biomonitoring Program to test peoples' bodies for 58 toxic chemicals. The program would be funded by placing assessments on chemical manufacturers. SB1168 passed 23-13. It moves to the Assembly.
- The Assembly approved a bill that would prohibit vaccines that contain mercury from being injected into young children and pregnant women, starting in 2006. The measure, AB2943 by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, was sent to the Senate by a 43-18 vote.
- A bill by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, would create a California registry for people with Parkinson's Disease. AB2248 passed 63-5. It moves to the Senate.
HIGH-SPEED RAIL:
- Legislation by Assemblyman Russ Bogh, R-Beaumont, would delay a public vote on a $9.95 billion high-speed rail bond measure until 2006. The bond proposal is currently on this November's ballot. The Assembly's 64-2 vote sent the bill, AB2865, to the Senate.
POLLUTION:
- A bill by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Santa Clara, would require all cars built after 1976 to pass a smog check, replacing the current law that exempts cars that are more than 30 years old. AB2683 was passed 42-24 by the Assembly. It goes to the Senate.
PRISONS:
- The Assembly sent the Senate a bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that would make it easier for the news media to obtain interviews with prison inmates. The vote on AB1866 was 44-32.
- Prisons would be required to follow an established treatment for an inmate, unless the prison's doctor conducted an examination and determined the treatment should be changed. AB2742, by Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Monrovia, passed the Assembly 69-0. It goes to the Senate.
PUBLIC RECORDS:
- The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, that would give the public greater access to Public Utilities Commission records. The proposal, SB1488, was sent to the Assembly by a 28-8 vote.
- The Senate also passed a bill by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, that would bar the state departments of Health Services, Consumer Affairs and Managed Health Care from releasing personal information requested under the state's Public Records Act about employees, volunteers, officers, owners, partners or board members of a reproductive health facility. SB1590 passed 22-11. It moves to the Assembly.
PUBLIC SAFETY:
- Judges, prosecutors, public defenders and other court personnel who receive threats on their lives could have their relocation costs paid by the government. AB2905, by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, was approved by the Assembly 66-0. It goes to the Senate.
- Employers of emergency personnel would have to offer psychiatric counseling for paramedics, firefighters and others who respond to disasters. AB1923, by Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, was approved by the Assembly 68-0. It goes to the Senate.
- The Senate voted 71-0 to pass a bill requiring the state Department of Mental Health to notify communities to which it is releasing people convicted of sexual crimes. The legislation allows the community to comment on the placement and requires the state to respond. AB2450, by Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla, D-Pittsburg, passed 71-0. It goes to the Senate.
TOURISM:
- A bill by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, would appropriate $1 million to promote tourism to California. SB1390 passed the Senate 29-8. It goes to the Assembly.
WELFARE:
- Alameda County could start a pilot program that would let CalWorks recipients receive benefits for up to four years if they were going to school to become a nurse. AB2989, by Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, was approved 41-25 by the Assembly. It goes to the Senate.
WORKERS:
- The Assembly, by a 45-29 vote, sent the Senate a bill by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Santa Clara, that would raise the state's minimum wage to $7.75 an hour in two steps. The wage is currently $6.75. The measure is AB2832.
- Workers could not sue their employers over the size or location of notices regarding possible workplace violations. SB1809, by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, passed 21-13. It moves to the Assembly.
- Workers convicted of workers compensation fraud would be listed on a state Department of Insurance Web site for five years. AB2688, by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, passed 64-5. It moves to the Senate.
More stuff from a full-time legislature hell-bent on spending taxpayers into oblivion...
California raises minimum wage.
ULTRA BREAKING NEWS
Businesses continue to abandon California at record pace to Nevada and Arizona. California unemployment continues to rise.
They should call this THE UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS PAYMENT UNDER THE TABLE ACT because this is what it will continue to encourage....
I mean isn't that what they're saying.... we don't need no stinkin' market system... we need more laws..
Then they'll be bitching aboutb rising unemployment and homelessness. And of course, it'll be Bush's fault...
Coincidentally, this parasitic ahole doesn't have to cough up the cash, does he?
I was just discussing with some friends online my theory, which is that Bush and Cheney went back in time millions of years to kill all the dinosaurs and cause their extinction so that Halliburton could profit. That, of course, makes the extinction ALL BUSH'S FAULT.
Gift to trial lawyers, who are lining up to sue the vaccine makers over the use of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. They claim, all scientific evidence to the contrary, that thimerosal causes autism.
- Workers could not sue their employers over the size or location of notices regarding possible workplace violations. SB1809, by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, passed 21-13. It moves to the Assembly.
Looks like someone is waking up to the consequences of SB796, the "Sue Your Boss" law.
Assuming the increase in minimum wage doesn't result in layoffs, the elected officials always fail to mention, that, at least initially, the increase in minimum wage also increases the tax revenues.>>>
Minimum wage increases also tend to increases the povertylevels. So now instead of say a 20000 a year poverty level it may increase to 25000. Hurting the people who live at the 20000 level. So in effect raising minimum wage increases poverty.
My, what busy busy bees we have in our assembly. Funny that those other bills we all discussed aren't mentioned in this article.
Read it and weep.
Arnie get out your veto pen,Isee you'll be needing it. A VOTER
What happens with a raise in the minimum wage, and I know this from personal experience, is rents go up, basic services go up, food goes up, the guy who services your car hikes his prices by say...5 bucks. You end up losing more than you gain.
Did you notice how they're helping the poor by changing the smog check exemption law? Now cars made in 1976 on up, will have to get a smog check. Great, that will help you get to your two minimum wage jobs on time.
Also notice the alphabet letter next to each fascists name...
I promised to send an email about those other assembly bills, then I read another article here about that illegal alien drivers license bill. I swear I'm going to be writing a long letter, when I calm down enough.
Incidentally, Libers bill is a deal with Cedillo. It is designed to help the Service Employees International Union. The largest foreign national local in the US. The local that Cedillo once presided over. The LA local that is substantially composed on Mexican nationals.
Hey ASSembly! Look up!
Look down!
Look all around!
Look at my thumb!
Gee yer dumb!!!
Hope Arnie doesn't get carpal tunnel vetoing a bunch of legislation.;-)
Took the words right outta my mouth.
I am still trying to formulate a response to the governor about all these bills. Everytime I turn around, these bums are figuring out more ways to screw us over. What a mess!
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