BUDGET PLANS LEAVE MUCH TO QUESTION -- As legislators signed off on rival spending plans Tuesday, the Senate showed its determination to force Gov. Charlie Crist to accept a tax on smokers -- or risk a budget flame out. The Senate wants to make the $1-a-pack tobacco tax almost veto-proof by directing the surcharge's proceeds into Medicaid. Medicaid is a linchpin of balancing the budget because it's linked to billions in federal stimulus money. If Crist vetoes the tobacco tax, his move could create a $3 billion budget hole in the Medicaid program, a federal-state insurance program for children, the elderly and the sick that Crist backs. Crist has repeatedly said he opposes a new tobacco tax. But his opposition appears to be softening. "It may be difficult for the governor to get at," said Senate budget leader J.D. Alexander, a Winter Haven Republican. Crist, who ducked a reporter's question about the Senate's veto-proof language, has begun trying to spare cigar makers from the tobacco tax. Florida's state tax on cigarettes, 33.9 cents per pack, is one of the nation's lowest and has not been raised since 1990. The increased tax has bipartisan support in the Senate but resistance is much higher in the Florida House. The House hasn't heard the tax bill and has no tobacco-tax money in its proposed budget. But even House legislators are acknowledging the surcharge -- as long as it's earmarked for Medicaid -- is in play with less than a month before the May 1 end of session. Also on the table: plans by both Crist and the Senate to ink a taxable gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. "There are going to be issues that come down to the final moments whether it's going to be the budget, obviously cigarette taxes, and obviously the gaming issue," said House Republican leader Adam Hasner of Delray Beach. Lawmakers from both chambers predicted they would agree on a balanced budget by May 1. But sign ificant differences remain now that the full budget committees from both chambers voted out their budget plans. The House's proposed budget is $546 million smaller than the Senate's, and it has roughly $800 million in new fees. The Senate version raises $2.1 billion in new fees and taxes. The fee increases in both budgets would up the cost of court filings, some fishing licenses, driver license tags, registrations, driving tests, license reinstatements, accident reports and original or duplicate titles of cars.

More on the tobacco tax here.

More on the increase in fees here.

More on budget compromises here.

More on per student spending here.