New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have hiked the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021, citing negative economic impacts in municipalities that have enacted this plan.
In his veto message Christie referenced California, Seattle and Washington, D.C. as examples of localities that have seen fewer jobs along with increased costs for goods and services as a result of ramping up to a $15 minimum wage. The Republican governor said such a high minimum wage would also discourage businesses from moving to the Garden State and result in some companies relocating. New Jersey residents voted three years ago to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 as well as annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index.
"The legislature now wants to increase the minimum wage by almost 80% just three years later," said Christie. "This bill would make New Jersey only the third state in the nation to adopt a minimum wage of $15 and it would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unaffordable."
State Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, issued a statement after Christie's veto saying the Senate will now move forward with a plan to let voters decide via referendum whether to approve a $15 minimum wage that would take effect in 2021.
Neighboring New York State approved a phased-in $15 minimum wage in April that will only take effect for New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a report in March 2015 that said increasing the minimum wage in New York City from $8.50 to $11.50 would lead to $3.4 billion in direct economic value as a result of 1.3 million New Yorkers having higher wages to spend.
