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Economy

Minimum Wage Deal At Calif. Capitol

Andew Nixon, Capital Public Radio

It looks like California’s minimum wage will go up next year for the first time since 2008.

Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders announced today that they're supporting legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2016.

Under the deal, California's $8 an hour minimum wage would rise to $9 in July of next year, then to $10 in January of 2016.

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That's a faster pace than the original bill that's been moving through the legislature this year but it does not include automatic adjustments for inflation, as was previously proposed.

The California Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the California Restaurant Association all oppose a minimum wage increase. They're not happy with this deal.

It also appears some outside pressure may have loomed over the negotiations. Labor unions have been talking about qualifying a minimum wage initiative for next year's ballot. Now, that's less likely to move forward.