Calls are growing for an investigation into California Governor Gavin Newsom over legislation that benefited one of his top donors.
A report said Newsom pushed for an exemption in a new $20 minimum wage law for fast food workers that applied to Panera Bread, owned by billionaire Greg Flynn.
Flynn has donated over $150k to Newsom and their connections were noted.
Republican Assemblyman Joe Patterson is calling for outside investigation into Gov. Newsom’s ties to billionaire Panera franchisee, even going as far to say the FBI should be involved.
Republican state lawmakers have no confidence in Dem super majority investigating itself pic.twitter.com/yj82LoIb47
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) February 29, 2024
As the largest franchisee in the US, Flynn only owns Applebee’s and Panera Bread in California, with Applebee’s already exempt.
Republicans said this “crooked deal” between the governor and major donor needs probing.
“Can any franchisee get an exemption from the $20 minimum wage law or do they need to donate more than $150k to Newsom first? This crooked deal needs to be investigated,” California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said.
An ethics expert said Newsom must explain why only Panera received the exemption, otherwise most will see it as a big donor favor.
“It’s the governor’s obligation to explain why Panera (should benefit) from this. Absent that explanation, most voters are going to assume he did a big favor for a big donor,” political science professor Dan Schnur said.
A GOP assemblyman called for a criminal FBI investigation, not trusting the Democrat-led state to investigate itself.
