TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida lawmakers passed the state's $66.5 billion budget Friday, which contains tuition increases for college students, higher fees for motorists and a more expensive cigarette habit for smokers.

The increases will fall heavily on motorists like Claudia Ramirez, 44, a self-employed event planner and mother of two from Miami who will now pay more to renew her driver's license and for annual registration.

"The government comes out to urge us to go out and buy houses and cars to boost the economy, but then they turn around and raise our fees," she said while gassing up her beige Toyota Corolla "It's like the government is inviting us out to a buffet and then sticking us with the bill."

La'Krystal Lewis, 33, is a married mother of two and senior with a double major in communications and hospitality, recreation and resort management at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

She works part-time for the university as a student activities clerk and relies on her mother to help care for her children to avoid daycare expenses. Her school expenses now come to about $5,000 a year, and she worries about how she'll pay a tuition increase of at least 8 percent.

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to do that unless I save up the money in the summer," Lewis said.

The 8 percent increase applies to all community and state colleges and public universities. A separate bill that has Gov. Charlie Crist's support will let individual universities -- but not the colleges -- increase tuition by up to 15 percent.

Anthony Mack, 20, a political science major at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, said he understands why lawmakers increased the state's tuition, currently one of the lowest in the nation.

"We have seen the effects of the brain drain wherein our best and brightest faculty members are leaving the state of Florida and going to other states to take jobs where they pay more," said Mack, governmental affairs director for the student government.

The tuition increase, though, won't be much of a burden on Mack, whose tuition is covered through a Bright Futures scholarship and the Florida Prepaid college program. Bright Futures wouldn't cover the increase, but he expects the prepaid program will.

To balance the budget, the Legislature is relying on the tuition increases, motor vehicle, court and other fee hikes, $5.3 billion in federal stimulus money, a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase and spending reductions, including a pay cut for some state workers.

Passage came on the final day of a one-week extension of the Legislature's regular 60-day session with few lobbyists or members of the public on hand. The overtime resulted when lawmakers were unable to resolve their differences over the budget.

Friday's votes were 32-8 in the Senate and 75-43 in the House, where the Democrats voted unanimously against the spending plan.

The 2009-10 budget plan now goes to Crist, who praised lawmakers and said it "addresses the priorities of the people of Florida and sustains essential services, even during these challenging times."

A fiery floor speech by Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, apparently swayed several Senate Democrats to vote for the budget.

"It's amazing what has been done with the money we had," King said. "No one has to go home and apologize for anything."

Seven of 14 Senate Democrats voted for the bill while Sen. Ronda Storms of Valrico was the lone Republican to cast a no vote.

"This is a tread water budget," said Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, who voted against it. "For decades we've been fueling this state on growth and nothing else. We clearly do not fund our system adequately."

Virtually every fee affecting motorists would go up. That includes a 35 percent increase in annual motor vehicle registration fees ranging from about $5 to $11.40. The initial fee for vehicle registration will shoot from $100 to $225. The initial driver's license fee would increase from $27 to $48, while a renewal would go from $20 to $48.

The new budget (SB 2600) is about $1.5 billion more than the state is spending in the current year after lawmakers cut about $1 billion at a special session in January. It's still $5 billion less, though, than the budget Crist signed into law two years ago.

Shortfalls in taxes and other revenues forced the Legislature to cut spending and find ways to replace those lost dollars.

Increasing the cigarette tax from 34 cent to $1.34 and nearly tripling the existing 25 percent tax on the wholesale price of other tobacco products, including chewing and pipe tobacco, is expected to raise about $800 million a year. Only cigars are excluded -- a bow to Florida's huge cigar industry.

Supporters say the tax will also save lives by encouraging smokers to quit and discourage others young people from starting the habit.

Lawmakers limited a 2 percent state employee pay cut to those making more than $45,000 during budget negotiations. It will affect about 28,000 employees, or 21 percent of the state's work force.

The pay cut, which does not include college and university employees, is expected to save the state $30 million.

"This was a political decision rather than an economic one," said Doug Martin, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Martin said the Legislature's own current year budget has more than enough surplus money to cover the pay cut. Total reserves in the new budget are $1.7 billion.

Democrats and union officials have asked Crist to veto the pay cut, but the governor has said he'll probably let it stand.

"You'd rather not have to do that, but the reality of the economy is what it is, and I think people understand that, I really do," Crist said.

The budget also has a 2 percent pay cut for legislators, who took a 5 percent reduction this year, and for elected school superintendents. School board members' salaries will be capped at no more than that of starting pay for teachers.