TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With Attorney General Office Ashley Moody’s office citing a new law, the Florida Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to more analysis about the financial impacts of a proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the state’s minimum wage.
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued an order that will allow state economists, who meet as the Financial Impact Estimating Conference, to produce an analysis about the impacts of the proposed constitutional amendment on the state and local economy and the state budget.
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Under state law at the time, economists in April produced what is known as a “financial impact statement” about the amendment’s potential effects on state and local government revenues and costs. But the Legislature this spring passed a law that also directs analysis of impacts of proposed constitutional amendments on the state and local economy and the state budget.
As a result, Moody’s office asked the Supreme Court last month whether the new requirement applies to the minimum-wage proposal.
The proposal, if approved by voters in 2020, would gradually raise the minimum wage until it reaches $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026.
Backers of the measure need to clear two thresholds to reach the ballot, including getting approval from the Supreme Court of the proposed ballot wording.
Also, they need to submit at least 766,200 valid petition signatures to the state Division of Elections. As of Friday morning, they had submitted 418,860 signatures, state numbers show.