Conn. House passes $15 minimum wage bill after overnight vote

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has voted to incrementally increase the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023, following a marathon, overnight debate.

Weary lawmakers advanced the bill to the Senate, 85-59, with one Democrat joining Republicans in opposition, shortly after noon on Thursday. The debate began around 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

The occasionally contentious debate was wrapped by New Haven Rep. Robyn Porter, the Democratic House chairwoman of the General Assembly's Labor Committee. Referencing her own early struggles as a divorced mother of two, Porter says the wage increase will help those who ``don't' have two nickels to rub together'' and feel like $10 is $100.

But Republicans warned the wage increase will harm an already fragile state economy and lead to job reductions and more automation.