A referendum effort to block a Los Angeles city ordinance that will gradually raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 an hour fell short when the city clerk certified it as insufficient, allowing the measure to take effect as planned.
City Clerk Petty Santos announced the decision in a press release dated Sept. 8, stating that proponents of the referendum against Ordinance No. 188610 submitted 140,774 signatures but that only 84,007 were deemed valid after verification. The petition required at least 92,998 valid signatures to qualify, according to city charter rules. Of the total, 56,767 signatures were found invalid, including 2,339 duplicates and those with other challenges such as mismatched addresses or incomplete information, while 17,082 were withdrawn following 117,607 withdrawal requests.
