San Diego City Wire

Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) expressed concerns regarding Assembly Bill 610 on the Senate Floor. The bill introduces new exemptions to California's $20-an-hour minimum wage increase for fast food chains. Recent media reports have questioned Panera Bread's exemption from this law, suggesting a connection between the franchise owner's ties and campaign contributions to Governor Newsom.

"Media outlets across the country are now calling California a 'Pay to Play' state," stated Leader Jones. "Put simply, campaign contributions should not buy you carve-outs in legislation. That’s crony capitalism. It’s corrupt and unacceptable."

Leader Jones proposed moving AB 610 to the inactive file, stressing the importance of rejecting any link between campaign contributions and legislative exemptions. "We need to send a message that the Senate will not condone any 'Pay to Play' actions or perceptions, period," he added.

Jones further suggested that scrapping AB 1228 entirely might be necessary and advocated for delaying its progress until a thorough investigation into these allegations could be conducted. However, his motion was rejected by the Democrat majority, which he described as troubling compliance with alleged corruption.

Senate Republicans unanimously opposed AB 610 today. They also resisted Assembly Bill 1228, which resulted in the minimum wage hike and Panera Bread's exemption in 2023. In response, Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) formally requested that the governor veto this legislation.