UPDATE: Tuesday, April, 5. The bill to increase the minimum wage from $10 an hour to $15 an hour was signed into law by Governor Brown in Los Angeles on Monday, April, 4. The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017, raising the minimum wage by fifty cents.

On Monday, March 28, Governor Brown officially announced a deal between California lawmakers and labor unions to raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022. The deal, which had been previously reported by the Los Angeles Times, would raise the minimum wage to $10.50 in 2017 and $11.00 in 2018 followed by annual dollar increases. The deal also called for raises past 2022 to match the raise in estimated cost-of-living statewide.

The deal was made as it grew more likely measures on the November ballot to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour before 2022 would pass. The deal also gives smaller businesses with less than 25 workers till 2023 to pay their workers the new minimum wage. It will also give the governor power to stall the raise if California hits economic down times such as a growth in unemployment rates.

A nationwide raise to $15 an hour has become a topic tied into the recent Presidential election especially on the Democratic end. Senator Bernie Sanders has supported a raise nationwide to $15 an hour, while Secretary Hillary Clinton has supported a raise to $12 an hour with higher raises being dependent on the region.

Announcing the deal Governor Jerry Brown said California needed to listen to it’s workers and hoped that what was happening in California didn’t stay in a California. Governor Brown said the deal was “a matter of economic justice.” The deal to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour is expected to be voted on by the legislature this week..