Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins said Friday she is “disappointed” in the challenge to the San Diego minimum wage increase but is confident that voters will approve it.
“I am disappointed that San Diego’s minimum wage increase has been delayed,” she said. “The state Legislature passed a higher minimum wage, but regional increases make sense in places with higher costs of living, like San Diego.”
Opponents of the city’s ordinance to raise the minimum wage learned Thursday they had collected enough valid signatures to force the City Council to either repeal the increase or place the issue on an upcoming ballot.
“I have confidence that the voters will pass the increase,” Atkins said.
The council voted 6-3 in July to increase the local minimum wage to $9.75 on Jan. 1, to $10.50 in January of 2016 and to $11.50 in January of 2017. The state of California’s minimum wage is $9 an hour, with a $1 hike scheduled in two years.
Atkins noted that San Francisco and San Jose have raised their minimum wage and their economies are growing.
