SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California lawmakers want to raise the state??s minimum wage by tying it to the consumer price index, the Sacramento Bee reports. The California starting wage hasn??t budged from $8 since early 2008.

Assembly Bill 1439, sponsored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, would install a floor on the minimum wage to keep it from dropping as consumer prices decreased, while it set mandated advances as prices increase. Such an index would bump the starting wage to around $8.14 in January 2013, but would also mean the start of yearly increases.

Alejo sees his bill as a way to help the economy by giving more funds to lower-income workers. "When minimum-wage workers have more money to spend, they spend it," he said. "They can't afford to save it. That is good for all businesses."

Not everyone agrees with him. The California Chamber of Commerce calls AB 1439 a "job-killer," while the California Restaurant Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation, among other groups, oppose it. "Now is not the time to increase the cost of doing business in California, when businesses are just now showing signs of recovery," said Jennifer Barrera, a lobbyist with the chamber.

Opponents contend that raising the starting wage would trigger requests for raises from other workers, as well as up the temporary and permanent disability payments. "(AB 1439) puts it on a one-way escalator: In good times it goes up, and in bad times it goes up," said Daniel Conway, spokesman for the California Restaurant Association.

Only 4.4% of California??s workforce get minimum wage. Currently, 10 states have minimum-wage hikes tied to consumer price indexes.