BILL NUMBER:  AB 48
  VETOED	DATE: 09/29/2005




To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 48 without my signature.

It is essential to those working at or near the minimum wage that the
adequacy of the wage is reviewed on a regular basis and raised when
appropriate.  The minimum wage has not been increased since 2002, and
I believe it is now appropriate.  This is a position I made very
clear to the author.  However, I have also made it clear that I do
not support automatic increases to the wage that relieve elected
officials of their duty to consider all of the impacts each increase
to the wage will have on workers and businesses.

This autopilot mechanism fails to account for changes in the economy
which could have deleterious effects on the economic health of the
state.  Despite numerous downward economic cycles over the last fifty
years, the inflation rate identified in the bill has never gone down
since the state began collecting the information in 1955.  Clearly
using static economic data does not account for the inevitable
downward cycles and would provide increases when the private sector
can least afford them.

Furthermore, minimum wage increases must not be put on autopilot or
examined in a vacuum but reviewed in conjunction with other wage and
hour issues that impact workers and businesses.  For example,
California has the most inflexible workplace scheduling rules in the
country.  These inflexible rules discourage the use of alternative
schedules that allow workers to work fewer days every week, avoid
peak commute times, and spend more time with their families.  In
addition, California businesses h ave been unreasonably hampered by
the Byzantine labor law defining employer classifications.

For these reasons I cannot support this measure but, as I told the
Legislatures leaders last month, I am willing to sign a minimum wage
increase bill that addresses my concerns.

Sincerely,



Arnold Schwarzenegger