The Public Policy Committee of the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to discuss the ballot initiative for a $12 minimum wage at its July 28 meeting.

Chamber President/CEO Scott Soldat-Valenzuela said the controversial item was added to the committee’s agenda after supporters filed petitions July 7 with the Secretary of State to include the ballot measure on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The current minimum wage in Arizona is $8.05 per hour.

The ballot initiative would raise the state’s minimum wage to $10 in 2017, $10.50 in 2018; $11 in 2019 and $12 per hour in 2020.

Discussion by the local Chamber will come three weeks after the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry said it would vigorously oppose the pay hike.

“The initiative is bad for Arizona,” said Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry President/CEO Glenn Hamer. “If it passes, the very people the proposition’s organized labor supporters claimed to want to help will be the most harmed.

“The poor, young people and those with few skills who would benefit most from an entry-level job will find themselves shut out of the job market as employers will have fewer dollars to devote to new hires.”

The Fair Wages and Healthy Families campaign collected more than 271,000 petitions, surpassing the minimum number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

The initiative establishes a different distribution policy for employers with 15 employees or more and those with less than 15 on staff.

The minimum accrual shall be 1 hour of earned paid time for every 30 hours worked. Use of sick time cannot exceed 40 hours per year for employers with 15 employees or more and 24 hours for those with less than 15 employees.