California’s state budget set aside $1.1 million for the Fast Food Council despite not having a leader since May and not having the full council meet for the entire year.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1228 in September 2023, establishing a Fast Food Council within the state’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to set an hourly minimum wage for fast food restaurant employees and develop standards, rules and regulations for the fast food industry. However, according to KCRA, the council’s first chairman, Nick Hardeman, resigned on May 22.
According to the DIR’s meeting agenda, the council held only two meetings in 2025, one in January and a second in February, but neither included the full nine members. Records show that at least seven members were in attendance, both in person and via Zoom, listening to testimony to consider a wage increase for fast food workers.
Notably, under AB 1228 the council is required to hold meetings or hearings no less than every six months, and they must be open to the public.
Newsom’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the administration is reviewing applicants for Hardeman’s former position, with a formal announcement coming once the governor appoints someone new. On the same day as Hardeman’s exit, Newsom appointed him to the California Housing Finance Agency’s Board of Directors, according to KCRA.
The Department of Finance confirmed to the DCNF that the council has a $1.1 million allocation from the Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund to support four staff positions. With concerns mounting over the state’s massive deficit, criticism of the administration’s leadership grew after the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office admitted it botched the deficit estimate by roughly $5 billion.
The department did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s question about why more than $1 million was set aside for the council despite it not holding any full nine-member meetings in 2025.
California has meddled in fast food industry conflicts for years, with Newsom raising the minimum wage from $16 to $20 as part of AB 1228, which took effect in April 2024. However, despite the push for increased wages, a March analysis from the conservative Employment Policies Institute found the state has continued to shed thousands of jobs.
Data from EPI estimated that California lost nearly 14,000 fast food jobs since the wage increase. The drop comes after some workers voiced concerns about the impacts, including former Fosters Freeze Assistant General Manager Monica Navarro, who said in April 2024 that her shop announced its closure the same month the wage increase took effect, resulting in all employees being let go.
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