The proposal, Senate Bill 525 from Los Angeles lawmaker María Elena Durazo, will eventually raise hourly wages for health care workers in most settings to $25. Proponents have argued that higher wages are crucial for easing a workforce shortage that worsened during the pandemic as grueling conditions caused many to quit their jobs.

But until Friday, it was unclear to even those close to the deal whether Newsom would sign it. The governor’s office was not directly involved in the health care wage negotiations between hospitals, clinics and unions — unlike with a fast food labor deal that Newsom helped broker — and he routinely cites cost pressures in his veto messages. An analysis of an earlier version of the bill estimated it would cost the state $1 billion annually.