https://apnews.com/article/california-minimum-wage-increase-fast-food-newsom-69c26b7f07f2647149c37677446cea30 [p] Menu AP Logo Menu * U.S. * World * Politics * Video * Spotlight * Entertainment * Sports * Business * Science * Fact Check * Climate * Health * Photography * Oddities * Tech * Lifestyle * Religion * Press Releases * ... + U.S. + World o Russia-Ukraine War o Latin America o Europe o Africa o Middle East o Asia Pacific o U.S. News o Australia o China + Politics o Joe Biden o Election 2024 o Congress + Video + Spotlight + Entertainment o Movie reviews o Book reviews o Celebrity o Television o Music + Sports o AP Top 25 Poll o NFL o MLB o NHL o NBA o WNBA o Soccer o Tennis o Golf + Business o Inflation o Financial Markets o Business Highlights o Financial wellness + Science + Fact Check + Climate + Health + Photography + Oddities + Tech o Artificial Intelligence o Social Media + Lifestyle + Religion + Press Releases [ ] Search Query Submit Search Show Search * U.S. * World + Russia-Ukraine War + Latin America + Europe + Africa + Middle East + Asia Pacific + U.S. News + Australia + China * Politics + Joe Biden + Election 2024 + Congress * Video * Spotlight * Entertainment + Movie reviews + Book reviews + Celebrity + Television + Music * Sports + AP Top 25 Poll + NFL + MLB + NHL + NBA + WNBA + Soccer + Tennis + Golf * Business + Inflation + Financial Markets + Business Highlights + Financial wellness * Science * Fact Check * Climate * Health * Photography * Oddities * Tech + Artificial Intelligence + Social Media * Lifestyle * Religion * Press Releases * * [] The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day. * + twitter + instagram + facebook * * The Associated Press + ap.org + Careers + Advertise with us + Accessibility Statement + Cookie Settings + Terms of Use + Privacy Policy * * More From AP News + About + AP News Values and Principles + AP's Role in Elections + AP Leads + AP Definitive Source Blog + AP Images Spotlight Blog + AP Stylebook * * Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. 2023 Ryder Cup Biden impeachment inquiry Rotterdam shooting CVS walkout Government shutdown U.S. News New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour, among nation's highest California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 1 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under a new law signed Thursday by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the billl. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 2 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under a new law signed Thursday by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the billl. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More FILE -- Fast food workers and union activists demonstrate outside the California State Capitol to rally support for legislation to increase fast-food worker wages on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving fast food workers a $20 minimum wage on April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File) 3 of 9 | FILE -- Fast food workers and union activists demonstrate outside the California State Capitol to rally support for legislation to increase fast-food worker wages on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving fast food workers a $20 minimum wage on April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File) Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) 4 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded buy fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 5 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded buy fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 6 of 9 | Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 7 of 9 | Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) 8 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) Read More Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 9 of 9 | Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour, among nation's highest California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 1 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More 1 of 9 California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under a new law signed Thursday by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the billl. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 2 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under a new law signed Thursday by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the billl. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More 2 of 9 California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under a new law signed Thursday by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the billl. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More FILE -- Fast food workers and union activists demonstrate outside the California State Capitol to rally support for legislation to increase fast-food worker wages on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving fast food workers a $20 minimum wage on April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File) 3 of 9 | FILE -- Fast food workers and union activists demonstrate outside the California State Capitol to rally support for legislation to increase fast-food worker wages on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving fast food workers a $20 minimum wage on April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File) Read More 3 of 9 FILE -- Fast food workers and union activists demonstrate outside the California State Capitol to rally support for legislation to increase fast-food worker wages on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving fast food workers a $20 minimum wage on April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) 4 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) Read More 4 of 9 California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded buy fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 5 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded buy fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More 5 of 9 California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded buy fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 6 of 9 | Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More 6 of 9 Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 7 of 9 | Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More 7 of 9 Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) 8 of 9 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) Read More 8 of 9 California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast food bill surrounded by fast food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds up the bill. (AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 9 of 9 | Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Read More 9 of 9 Anneisha Williams, right, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Southern California celebrates as she holds the bill signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. California fast food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year under the new law signed by Newsom. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More [] By ADAM BEAM Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A new law in California will raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour next year, an acknowledgment from the state's Democratic leaders that most of the often overlooked workforce are the primary earners for their low-income households. When it takes effect on April 1, fast food workers in California will have the highest guaranteed base salary in the industry. The state's minimum wage for all other workers -- $15.50 per hour -- is already among the highest in the United States. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law Thursday amid a throng of cheering workers and labor leaders at an event in Los Angeles. Newsom dismissed the popular view that fast food jobs are meant for teenagers to have their first experience in the workforce. "That's a romanticized version of a world that doesn't exist," Newsom said. "We have the opportunity to reward that contribution, reward that sacrifice and stabilize an industry." Related stories FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom answers questions during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, Newsom signed a new law aiming to protect doctors and pharmacists who mail abortion pills to patients in other states where the procedure is banned. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File) California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs law to protect doctors who mail abortion pills to other states FILE -- Fast food workers and their supporters march past the California state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2022. Most fast food workers in California would get a $20 minimum wage under a new bill introduced in the state Legislature on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. The bill represents an agreement between labor unions and the fast food industry. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) California fast food and health care workers poised to win major salary increases FILE - Customers walk to a CVS Pharmacy, Friday, Nov 4, 2022, in Boston. CVS made a move Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, to make frustrated pharmacists in the Kansas City-area to call off a walkout. It promised to boost hiring to ease overwhelming workloads that sometimes make it hard to take a bathroom break. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, FIle) CVS responds quickly after pharmacists frustrated with their workload don't show up Newsom's signature reflects the power and influence of labor unions in the nation's most populous state, which have worked to organize fast food workers in an attempt to improve their wages and working conditions. It also settles -- for now, at least -- a fight between labor and business groups over how to regulate the industry. In exchange for higher pay, labor unions have dropped their attempt to make fast food corporations liable for the misdeeds of their independent franchise operators in California, an action that could have upended the business model on which the industry is based. The industry, meanwhile, has agreed to pull a referendum related to worker wages off the 2024 ballot. "That was a tectonic plate that had to be moved," Newsom said, referring to what he said were the more than 100 hours of negotiations it took to reach an agreement on the bills in the final weeks of the state legislative session. Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union International, said the law capped 10 years of work -- including 450 strikes across the state in the past two years. The moment was almost too much for Anneisha Williams, who held back tears as she spoke during a news conference just before Newsom signed the bill. Williams, a mother of six -- seven if you count her beloved dog -- works at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Inglewood. "They've been with me on the picket line, and they've been marching with me as well," Williams said of her children. "This is for them." Newsom signing the law could win back some favor with organized labor, who sharply criticized him last week for vetoing a separate bill aimed at protecting the jobs of truck drivers amid the rise of self-driving technology. Unions have played a big part in Newsom's political rise in California, offering a reliable source of campaign cash. Newsom's appearance in Los Angeles comes a day after Republican presidential candidates - but not Donald Trump - appeared at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley for their second televised debate. Newsom, while denying any interest in a White House run, has positioned himself as a foil to GOP contenders and has traveled the country to criticize conservative positions on abortion and gun rights. His actions on hundreds of bills before him may be viewed through the lens of his future political ambitions. The new minimum wage for fast food workers will apply to restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide, with an exception for restaurants that make and sell their own bread, like Panera Bread. Right now, California's fast food workers earn an average of $16.60 per hour, or just over $34,000 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's below the California Poverty Measure for a family of four, a statistic calculated by the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Equality that accounts for housing costs and publicly-funded benefits. The new $20 minimum wage is just a starting point. The law creates a Fast Food Council that has the power to increase that wage each year through 2029 by 3.5% or the change in averages for the U.S. Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, whichever is lower. Now, the focus will shift to another group of low-wage California workers waiting for their own minimum wage increase. Lawmakers passed a separate bill earlier this month that would gradually raise the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 per hour over the next decade. That raise wouldn't apply to doctors and nurses, but to most everyone else who works at hospitals, dialysis clinics or other health care facilities. But unlike the fast food wage increase -- which Newsom helped negotiate -- the governor has not said if he would sign the raise for health care workers. The issue is complicated by the state's Medicaid program, which is the main source of revenue for many hospitals. The Newsom administration has estimated the wage increase would cost the state billions of dollars in increased payments to health care providers. Labor unions that support the wage increase point to a study from the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center that said the state's costs would be offset by a reduction in the number of people relying on publicly funded assistance programs. ___ Associated Press reporter Michael R. Blood contributed from Los Angeles. ADAM BEAM ADAM BEAM Adam covers California government and politics. twitter mailto [] The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. 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