Ballot Measure To Increase Minimum Wage To $15

Sacramento, CA — California voters will decide whether to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 by the year 2021.

The California Secretary of State’s office reports that the proponents have gathered the 423,000 needed signatures to place the issue on the November ballot. The measure is being pushed by a union representing healthcare workers. The minimum wage, which is currently $10, would increase by $1 each of the next five years.

In filing its official report, the Secretary of State’s Office notes that is unclear the impact it would have on the state and local tax revenues, indicating it would depend on whether business owners retain those impacted workers, or layoff staff. The SOS reports the impact could range from “a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to a gain of more than $1-billion.”

There is also a competing ballot measure, in which proponents are still collecting signatures, that would increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2020, one year earlier. In addition, that measure would require businesses to provide six paid sick days per year.