![\"Assemblymember](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Toni_Atkins1_photo.jpg\")
<\/a>Some communities have taken matters in their own hands and increased their own minimum wages. This didn\u2019t happen overnight, but given the rising cost of living and wage disparity, it was seemingly inevitable.<\/p>\n
Gov. Brown thought California\u2019s new law was a necessary response to a proposed ballot measure that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 more quickly than the new law does. While I supported that initiative, I\u2019m pleased with the details of the new law, and I\u2019m happy that the governor won the support of the people who were backing the initiative.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how it will work: The minimum wage will rise to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2017, and then to $11 on Jan. 1, 2018. After that, it grows by $1 at the beginning of each year until it reaches $15 in 2022. Then, beginning in 2024, the wage will be adjusted according to the federal consumer price index, but it will never go down, and it won\u2019t rise by more than 3.5 percent in any single adjustment.<\/p>\n
One thing I like about this law is it gives small businesses more time to plan for the increased payroll costs. For companies with fewer than 25 employees, the wage increase schedule lags for a year. In other words, they won\u2019t have to pay $10.50 until 2018, and so on.<\/p>\n
Another feature of the new law is that it takes into consideration the effects of an economic downturn. If the governor determines that California has failed specific job-growth and sales-tax tests, or a specific balanced-budget test, after the first increase happens, the increase schedule will be stopped and, basically, delayed.<\/p>\n
I think the best word to describe what we have now is \u201ccertainty.\u201d Everyone has known for some time that an increase was eventually coming; the people of California simply weren\u2019t going to stand for a $10 wage much longer. But no one knew how high or how quickly it would rise.<\/p>\n
Now, low-wage workers and businesses know what\u2019s going to happen and when it\u2019s going to happen, and everyone has time to plan for the gradual impact.<\/p>\n
This was a great example of the people effectively demanding change and legislators responding with a thoughtful, prudent course of action.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important for me to note that California\u2019s new law doesn\u2019t change my position on the proposal to increase the minimum wage in San Diego. That\u2019s because in the early years of the state\u2019s schedule, San Diego\u2019s wage would rise more quickly. Additionally, the San Diego proposal includes a provision for more sick days than the state requires.<\/p>\n
People who work full time should not have to live in poverty. We had to do right by California\u2019s lower-wage workers. This was a thoughtful way to do it while taking into account the needs of workers and employers and allowing for a pause should the state fall into an economic downturn. I applaud the governor and the communities that worked to make this a reality, as well as the legislature for enacting the new law.<\/p>\n
Alrededor del distrito:<\/strong> Beginning May 15, my staff will begin collecting donations for Socks for Stand Down<\/strong>, our second annual drive to support San Diego\u2019s homeless veterans. You can help by bringing clean, new socks or underwear to local community meetings, where my staff will collect them, or by leaving them in marked bins at libraries in my district communities, including Downtown, North Park and University Heights. You also may drop them off at my San Diego office, 1350 Front St., Room 6054, during the drive, which will continue through June 15. The donations will be turned over to organizers of the annual Stand Down event, where they will be distributed to homeless veterans. Stand Down offers these vets shelter and a variety of necessary services for one weekend each July … The Zool\u00f3gico de San Diego<\/strong>, one of our region\u2019s most cherished icons, will kick off its centennial celebration at 6 p.m. May 14, at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion<\/strong> en parque balboa<\/strong>. Look for other celebrations to take place at the zoo and at other Balboa Park attractions throughout the year. The zoo has helped many millions of us \u2014 residents and tourists alike \u2014 create a century\u2019s worth of great memories, with countless more to come. Happy 100th birthday, San Diego Zoo!<\/p>\n