The California Department of Finance has come out against pending legislation to raise the statewide minimum wage to $13 an hour.
The position could be a harbinger of Gov. Jerry Brown’s ultimate action on Senate Bill 3, if the bill gets to his desk. The director of finance is a gubernatorial appointee, and the department rarely takes positions contrary to those of the governor.
Spokesman H.D Palmer, who has worked for the finance department under the administrations of Pete Wilson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, said he remembered the occurrence happening just once, in 1993.
The finance department opposes this year’s minimum wage bill because it would boost the state payroll by an estimated $1.2 billion once the wage reaches $13 in 2017. Finance officials also think the economic impact of a $13 minimum wage likely would be negative because it would slow the growth of employment.
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