Gov. Brown Signs Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $10/Hour

Gov. Jerry Brown was in Oakland Wednesday to mark the signing of a bill to raise California's hourly minimum wage to $10 by 2016.

The wage increase will take effect over the next three years, rising to $9 per hour on July 1, 2014, and to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016, according to the governor's office.

Brown was in Los Angeles Wednesday morning to sign the bill. At noon, he was scheduled to appear at Oakland's Cypress Mandela Training Center, which offers job training programs for Bay Area residents.

"The minimum wage has not kept pace with rising costs," Brown said in a statement. "This legislation is overdue and will help families that are struggling in this harsh economy."

The bill, authored by state Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, was amended earlier this month to move up the schedule for the wage bump.

The state's last minimum wage increase was in 2008, when it rose by 50 cents to $8 per hour.
           
California is among many states with a minimum wage above the federally mandated minimum wage of $7.25, but has a lower minimum wage than some states including Oregon, Washington and Illinois, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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