MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Senate couldn't agree on an education budget on the final night of the 2008 legislative session.

That means Governor Riley will have to call a special session to reconsider the budget. Riley says he's uncertain when that will occur.

The Senate was sharply divided over how much money to give universities. Senate budget committee Chairman Hank Sanders wanted
to hold the line on spending because he said the budget was already in danger of going into the red. But other senators were pushing for an extra $25 million for universities.

With the Senate tied up on the education budget, little else happened on the Legislature final day. The House did not consider a Senate-passed bill to restrict smoking in many public places and workplaces, and the Senate did not taken up a House-passed proposal to remove the state sales tax on groceries.

The Senate also let die House-passed bills giving a tax break to small businesses that supply health insurance to their employees and making sure the state income tax is not levied on the federal economic stimulus checks being received by Alabama taxpayers.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)