From the CNN article:

California has become the first state in the nation to approve a statewide $15 minimum wage.

“No one who is working full time in California should live in poverty due to a low wage,” said Democratic State Senator Mark Leno, who cosponsored the bill.

The measure will raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.50 in January and to $11 in January 2018. It will then increase by an additional $1 per hour every year until it reaches $15 in 2022. If, however, the state goes through an economic downturn or budget crisis, the governor may choose to slow the implementation.

The final bill gives small businesses, with 25 or fewer employees, an extra year to implement the increases.

About 5.6 million Californians, or about 32% of the state’s workforce, currently live on the minimum wage, according to Kevin De Leon, the president pro tempore of the state senate.

Setting a minimum wage at $15 has plenty of critics.

“California may be the first state to pass a $15 minimum wage, but it will also be the first to find out why that’s a bad idea,” said Michael Saltsman, research director of the Employment Policies Institute, a conservative think tank opposed to minimum wage hikes. He argues that many businesses will have to cut staff or close because of the deal. “This pain from a $15 minimum wage will only be exacerbated in more troubled counties in the state.”

My thoughts: 

So I ask Mr. Saltsman, how many business are employing more workers than they need?  Though my wife makes significantly more than minimum, her retail employer pays most people minimum or close to it; I can assure you they have already paired staff down to the bone.   How many janitors or McDonald’s burger flippers can these companies actually fire and still make money?  I suggest the number is close to zero.

What will happen is a modest level of inflation will occur in fast food and retail and other business that pay low wages. Perhaps a few percent points.  The real effect is that the moneyed class will take a hit in that they will make less profit and pay a more for personal services provided by the working poor.  Their concern for jobs and the welfare of the poor is a sham.

All I can say is “Boo Hoo for you.”