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A slightly revised state budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year was approved Thursday by the California state assembly, despite unpopular additions including a proposed increase in student fees at University of California campuses.

Although the budget passed with a strong bipartisan majority in both the Senate (33-4) and the Assembly (65-13), representatives from both houses offered only grudging support.

“I voted for the budget, but none of us were happy with it. Especially the Democrats,” said Assemblywoman Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), whose district includes the UCLA campus.

While the budget features no new taxes and limits the amount of money the state can borrow, the main objections to the budget seemed to come from the proposed increase of university fees, which could go up as much as 10 percent.

The budget imposes a fee increase of $457 for UC students and $186 for California State University students. The suggested increase in UC fees will likely be discussed at a UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco next week.

Bass said she disapproved of the fee increases written into the budget and the additional burden they place on students.

“College is already extremely expensive, and the idea that they have to incur more debt is terrible,” she said.

“We’ve reduced taxes and the wealthy have to pay their fair share. Instead, we’re taxing the young people and the poor.”

Lauren Seaton, a fourth-year business economics student, agreed, saying the increased tuition would make it even harder for students to get a university education.

“It’s already hard enough to afford a college education. If they keep raising the tuition, it will become impossible for so many people. ... It’s just unfair,” she said.

In response to the budget, representatives are attempting to find different ways to increase revenue coming into the state. One such plan includes a re-institution of an increased tax on residents with higher incomes.

In addition to the tuition changes, the new budget includes a repayment of $1.2 billion to cities and counties and plans for $1.3 billion to be spent on the improvement of highways and roads.

The money is expected to come from an improvement in the state’s economy, which will generate an estimated $4 billion more this year, and a decrease in labor costs of $40 million from a proposed cut of two state holidays.

The budget also shows a reduction of the $15 billion state deficit to $4.7 billion by the time next year’s budget comes to the assembly.

The revisions to the budget from the original version, proposed in May, are not drastic, but include a $1.8 billion increase that is expected to come from higher tax revenues and reducing a reserve fund sought by the governor.

The predictable changes to the budget allowed for it to be more quickly approved by the assembly, making this the fastest-approved California budget in five years. While members of both parties claimed to have objections, the only rejections came from Republican representatives, and the governor is expected to sign the budget this week.

The budget increased allocation to education funds by about $3 billion, raising it to a total of $61 billion, a record high for the state of California. This allows for about $10,000 per student for both K-12 and higher education students.

However, education groups and a few Democrats still say their budget was promised to be $3 billion higher.

The changes in the budget, as well as the lack of tax increases, did not come as a surprise to some.

“We knew that tuition prices were going to go up. It’s unfortunate, but not unexpected,” said Matthew Baum, a UCLA political science professor.

With reports from Bruin wire services.