NJ Assembly Has Busy Day Of Voting

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto presides over the New Jersey Assembly as they vote on legislation. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

(Aristide Economopoulos )

TRENTON -- The state Assembly on Thursday passed a bill to give minimum wage workers in New Jersey a nearly 80 percent bump in their pay that Gov. Chris Christie is all but certain to strike down.

For the Democratic leaders in the state Senate and Assembly, the veto is not so much a threat as it is a procedural step. They've said they plan to take the wage hike to the voters through a constitutional referendum, bypassing the Republican governor if he intervenes.

The Senate still has to pass the bill, which would increase New Jersey's $8.38 minimum wage to $15, and to what its sponsors say is a more livable wage in a high-cost state where the average two-bedroom apartment costs more than $1,300 a month.

"What we are doing is moving those individuals who are on the lowest rung of economic success in New Jersey, who are earning minimum wage, and we are giving them a hand," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex).

The annual take-home pay for a full-time worker earning the minimum wage in New Jersey is about $17,430. The United Way of Northern New Jersey has estimated a single adult in New Jersey would need to earn $13.78 an hour to meet his or her basic needs, and $19.73 per hour for "better food and shelter, plus modest savings."

Under the bill (A15), the minimum wage would hit $10.10 on Jan. 1, 2017, and then increase by at least $1.25 an hour until 2021. After 2021, annual increases will be tied to changes in the consumer price index.

Business owners and lobbyists, however, warn it will push prices higher and or force businesses to cut staff.

"The simple fact is that the laws of economics cannot be repealed," Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris) said. "Yes, some people will be helped today by this legislation. Those lucky enough to keep their jobs."

Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus (R-Sussex) said a restaurant owner in her district worried about the ripple effect on higher paid employees' wages and estimated the increased payroll and taxes would cost their business $140,000.

"Either they would have to lay off or they would have to close their doors or they would have to pass this onto their consumer," she said.

Republican lawmakers offered some rejected alternatives to the bill that would have staggered wages across New Jersey counties or created a lower-cost "training wage."

"We can do better retraining our workforce," Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerset) said. "We can do better at creating an economy in which businesses can afford the going rate."

Democrats have stressed that a higher minimum wage will ease the dependency on such government assistance programs as food stamps and housing vouchers and counter the state's rising poverty levels.

Democrats have already gone the constitutional amendment route on raising the minimum wage after Christie in 2013 vetoed a minimum wage bill that he said would hurt the economy.

Voters agreed to amend the state Constitution to increase the minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 an hour and then adjust annually based on the Consumer Price Index. Wages rose 13 cents in January 2015 and did not increase in 2016.

New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning Trenton think tank, has estimated 975,000 people would benefit from the wage hike. Of those, 91 percent are older than 20 years old, 61 percent are full-time workers and 28 percent have children.

The Assembly bill passed 42-31-1.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.