JACKSON, Miss. – On Tuesday, the Mississippi House voted (68-50) to raise the state's minimum wage, but the bill faces stiff opposition in the Senate, especially with Congress poised to pass a federal mandate to raise the entry-level wage, the Commercial Dispatch reports.

The Mississippi bill would increase the state minimum wage to $6.25 an hour this year, with it rising to $7.25 an hour in 2008. Sen. Terry Brown, who controls the legislation in the state senate, said "It's probably going to have a rough go over here."

Currently 29 states have a minimum wage higher than the federal requirement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Six states approved increases in November and 11 legislatures will raise the wage in 2006. Yesterday, the U.S. House took up a bill that would boost the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over 26 months.

Even if the Mississippi bill passes the Senate, Gov. Haley Barbour would likely veto it, the newspaper reports.