SB 352 (Padilla, D-El Centro)

SB 352 would direct the California Workforce Development Board, along with the secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, to examine housing costs by county, regionally, and in the state. They must then create a formula to determine how much the local minimum wage must be for a full-time worker to afford a decent standard of living, including appropriate housing, in that county. Beginning in 2024 and by Dec. 15 of each year, the board must recommend to the Legislature the minimum wage for a full-time minimum wage earner to afford a decent standard of living in each county, regionally, and in the state. The board must also recommend a method to annually adjust figures to account for housing cost inflation, as well as inflation broadly.