AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Gov. John Baldacci's biennial budget plan was subjected to another test Friday, as a legislative committee gathered to grade it on its tax implications.

When it came to the $136 million tobacco tax increase that the governor has proposed, the Taxation Committee effectively said _ in four paragraphs _ not so fast.

"The Taxation Committee is disappointed to see the cigarette tax in the budget because it potentially disrupts our ability to undertake a comprehensive tax reform and tax relief package as the people of Maine have demanded," a draft statement adopted unanimously by the committee says.

"The Taxation Committee cannot support the cigarette tax as proposed, isolated from a more comprehensive tax reform and tax relief package, and thus urges the Appropriations Committee to look elsewhere to fill the gap in the budget," the draft says.