Democratic legislators unveiled a comprehensive budget plan Thursday that proposes a tax hike on tobacco and utilizes federal stimulus funds to reduce current cuts to education and human services spending.

The plan diverges on several fronts from the approach currently favored by the majority Republicans, who have weighed-in against a hike on tobacco, and who are at odds on whether to accept all of the stimulus funding.

House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-West Valley, said the package reflects the necessary cuts of a dire economic environment, but prioritizes funding for the most important government functions.

"Our number one goal in developing our budget was to reduce ongoing cuts to vital services that Democrats have always championed," Litvack said. "It protects … public education, higher education, health and human services, public safety and others."

The budget outline presented Thursday supports a $1.30 per pack increase in cigarette tax that would garner an additional $48 million in the coming year. Coupled with a $20 bump in the vehicle registration fee (a tax increase also favorable to Republicans) that would put another $50 million into state coffers, they would provide about a 10 percent offset of the $1 billion trimmed from state spending earlier in the session.

That money, along with some stimulus funds, would help reduce cuts now on the table to public and higher education. Senate Minority Leader Pat Jones, D-Holladay, said the Democrats version of how to fund education should be good news to Utah families. Her party's proposed cuts drop the current Republican reductions of 6 percent in public education and 9 percent in higher education to 2 percent and 6 percent.

"For every percentage point we reduce the budget, we have the equivalent of 350 teachers," Jones said. "This decreases the likelihood of more overcrowding … and helps retain our high-quality teachers."

Democratic leaders said that $255 million in federal stimulus dollars would help prop up deep cuts in health and human services. In their party caucus meeting Thursday, Democrats discussed a new federal matching percentage for Medicaid dollars that makes cuts in that area much more significant. The old model matched about $3 federal dollars to every $1 the state contributed, while the new rate makes that closer to 4-1. Jones said those aided by these programs were among the residents most in need.

"The health and human services budget is particularly important to the most vulnerable … from the children to our aging population," Jones said.