The California branch of the National Federation of Independent Business said the state Senate’s decision to pass a bill increasing the minimum wage by 15 percent over the next few years will hurt California’s economic progress. The bill will now be presented to the governor, who can sign the bill into law or veto it. After two years, all future increases would be linked to the rise in the federal Consumer Prince Index. The group said that in Washington State, which made a similar decision, the effect was actually an increase in poverty. “The governor is in an unenviable position,” said Michael Shaw, assistant state director of the 35,000 member NFIB California branch. “If he vetoes it, he will be castigated as uncaring; and if he signs it, he would handicap California’s potential for real economic growth for many years to come.”