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The legislation
would have made New Jersey the third state to adopt a $15 per
hour minimum wage, Christie said in a statement.
State voters agreed to a previous wage hike in 2013, to $8.25
from $7.25. New Jersey's rate is tied to the consumer price
index and is now at $8.38, according to a database from the
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
"Despite having a constitutional mandate in place, the
legislature now wants to increase the minimum wage by almost 80
percent just three years later," Christie said in a statement
about his veto.
Christie, a close ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald
Trump, said the wage bill passed by Democrats, who control both
houses of state legislature, failed to consider the ability of
businesses to absorb the increased labor costs.
Neighboring New York State, as well as California, became the
first states to lift the minimum wage toward $15 earlier this
year.
While California's higher rate will be in effect statewide by
2022, New York created a two-speed system, with different
timetables for New York City and nearby counties, versus the
"upstate" regions where incomes are lower and labor markets less
robust.
Some cities are also stepping up to higher wage levels.
Washington, D.C.'s minimum wage will reach $15 per hour by July
1, 2020, after it enacted a law this year. The city's current
level is $10.50.
Washington and 29 states have set minimum wages above the
federal rate of $7.25 an hour, according to the NCSL.
Michele Siekerka, president of the New Jersey Business &
Industry Association, praised Christie's veto, saying the
increase was "too much too fast."
"Had this bill been signed, it would not only have hurt the New
Jersey economy, but it would have hurt the exact workers the
proponents of this policy are trying to help," she said in a
statement.
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, lead sponsor of the bill, said
in a statement the wage increase is a key component to
Democrats' strategy to combat poverty.
"A substantial minimum wage increase will help lift countless
families out of poverty, decrease government dependency and
boost commerce by pumping more dollars back into the economy,"
he said.
(Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Chris Reese)
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