Calif. Bill To Raise Wages Vetoed
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed bills Saturday that would have raised the minimum wage to $7.75 an hour, made Wal- Mart-like megastores more difficult to build and limited schools' ability to give students random drug tests.</br></br>The governor said the minimum wage and megastore legislation would have hurt the state's economy and said drug testing policies should be left up to school officials.</br></br>The minimum wage bill would have raised California's minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.25 Jan. 1 and to $7.75 on Jan. 1, 2006. The federal minimum is $5.15 an hour.</br></br>Bill supporters said the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, but Schwarzenegger said the legislation would have discouraged economic growth.</br></br>"Now is not the time to create barriers to our economic recovery or reverse the momentum we have generated," he said.