The constitutional amendment to increase the minimum wage to $15 over four years will not be passed by December 31, 2016.
This means that in order for the constitutional amendment question to appear on the November 2017 ballot, the Legislature would need to pass a concurrent resolution by a three-fifths majority in both houses by August 7, 2017 (24 votes in the Senate and 48 votes in the Assembly).
According to a news story published by Politico, Speaker Vincent Prieto acknowledged that changing the minimum wage may have to wait until 2018 when legislators may attempt to do it legislatively under a new administration.
NJBIA lobbied against the constitutional amendment to increase the minimum wage to $15 over four years because it went too far too fast and would have had a devastating impact on our state’s economic recovery and small businesses.
NJBIA will continue to work with the Governor and Legislature to ensure that business interests are considered in any future proposal.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
