March 27, 2014; Washington Post

Yesterday, Connecticut lawmakers approved a minimum wage hike to $10.10 by 2017, making it the highest among state requirements to date. Governor Dannel Malloy plans to sign the bill today.

Up for reelection this year, Malloy, a Democrat, has made this the centerpiece of his campaign in a state where, according to a recent poll, there is almost a three-to-one split among voters in favor of the minimum wage hike. The only subset of voters who were recorded in that poll as opposing the hike were Republicans, with 53 percent opposing the measure and 41 percent supporting it. Even the level of the hike aligned with the preferred increase stated by voters in the same poll.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, bills to raise the minimum wage are pending in 23 other states.—Ruth McCambridge