SACRAMENTO—More than 500,000 of California’s fast-food workers will now be eligible to negotiate their working conditions and wages after a first-of-its-kind union-backed bill passed in the legislature on Jan. 31. Assembly Bill 257, or the FAST Food Recovery Act, passed in the state legislature in a 41–19 vote despite heavy opposition from several business advocacy groups and Assembly Republicans. Some Democrats and unions are praising the bill, while several Republicans and business advocacy groups strongly oppose it. Authored primarily by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, the bill will create an 11-member Fast Food Sector Council—appointed by the governor, the speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Rules Committee—to regulate the independent and franchised fast-food chains that have more than 30 locations nationally. Under AB 257, franchisors will have to ensure their chains adhere to employment, public health, and safety laws that would be …