New Jersey's Democratic-controlled legislature plans to move forward with minimum wage legislation, following months of discussion on the issue.
According to the
Newark Star-Ledger, Democrats in the Senate on Monday agreed to vote on an Assembly-backed bill that would immediately raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $8.50 an hour. The measure also includes an automatic increase tied to inflation.
There are concerns, however, that Republican Gov. Chris Christie may move to veto the bill because of his opposition to automatic increases. Christie has said he is willing to negotiate a one-time increase. But Democratic leaders said they are unwilling to budge on the issue and threatened to move it through the voters via a constitutional amendment.
The minimum wage increase has been a priority for Democratic lawmakers since the first of the year, but the two chambers of the legislature got bogged down over how it should be implemented.
The bill passed the full Assembly back in May but has languished in the Senate ever since.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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