Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law legislation designed to increase the diversity of city council members in California by increasing salaries.
State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, authored Senate Bill 329, which cleared the Legislature on June 13 and was signed by the governor before the end of the month.
The new law “will remove barriers to achieving more equitable representation in local government by making it easier for public servants to balance careers and personal obligations,” Dodd said in a news release.
It allows city councils to raise their maximum pay to keep pace with inflation as measured by the California Consumer Price Index.
Any increases would require a simple majority vote by a council.
Currently, city council salaries are capped based on the population size of cities, and the maximum pay hikes set by state law have not increased since 1984.
SB 329 is the 100th bill written by Dodd to be signed into law since he joined the Legislature in 2014 as a member of the Assembly, the most by any lawmaker during that period, according to the news release.
