SB1372 would punish companies that pay CEOs more than 100 times the median wage of their workers by imposing a higher corporate tax rate. Companies with less of a wage gap would be rewarded with a lower rate. Chamber lobbyist Jennifer Barrera told the committee the bill would discourage corporate investment in the state. The bill cleared its first committee on a party-line 5-2 vote and now goes before the Appropriations Committee. Top corporate salaries are often indeed “out of whack,” said Sen. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, who voted against the bill.