California senate approves $13 minimum wage bill

This post was updated at 8:17 p.m.

The California Senate approved a bill Thursday that would raise the minimum wage in the state from $8 an hour to $13 an hour by 2017.

Senate Bill 935 was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and would raise the minimum wage to $11 an hour in 2015, $12 an hour in 2016 and to $13 an hour in 2017. After 2017, the minimum wage would rise annually with the rate of inflation.

In 2013, the Legislature passed a bill that would raise the minimum wage from $8 to $9 an hour on July 1, 2014. The bill would also increase wages from $9 to $10 an hour on Jan. 1, 2016. If passed, SB-935 would override this bill.

“By giving low-income workers the pay and respect they deserve, we will also address the growing inequality … which is a roadblock to economic recovery and a drain on already limited taxpayer resources,” Leno said in a press release.

The California Chamber of Commerce characterized the bill as “a job killer” bill that unfairly increases employer costs.

UCLA professors and students had mixed opinions on the effect of a hike in minimum wage.

Jerry Nickelsburg, a senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast, said the hike increases the purchasing power of those earning minimum wage, but may also lead to the creation of fewer jobs.

“(The hike) makes the lower end of the wage scale less attractive from an employer’s point of view,” Nickelsburg said.

Chris Tilly, the director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, said he thinks the increase in minimum wage will produce a moderate economic boost.

“Even though on some level common sense says (the hike) should be a job killer, it doesn’t seem to be,” Tilly said. “We need to update our common sense a little.”

Alan Chen, a third-year material science and engineering student, said the United States as a world leader has the responsibility to make sure its citizens are well-treated. He said the current minimum wage is no longer adequate with the rising cost of living.

Jonatas Santos, who was visiting the UCLA campus to see a friend, said that while there is nothing wrong with having a minimum wage, he sees this as a political move given this year is election year.

Zachary Jones, a second-year geography student, said he thinks raising the minimum wage would take away jobs from businesses. He said raising the minimum wage would make it harder for young people to break into the job market.

The bill was passed by a majority of 21-12 and will go to the Assembly for a vote.

Contributing reports by Eu Ran Kwak, Bruin contributor.