DENVER (AP) -- Lawmakers are considering a 40 percent tuition hike at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University next year as they struggle to come up with $194 million to balance the budget.

The increase would be partially offset by a decline in fees, so that tuition and fees combined would increase about 31 percent.

The proposal unveiled Tuesday would increase total tuition and fees at CU-Boulder from $4,020 to $5,297 a year, while students at CSU would have to pay $4,907, up from $3,744.

Of the tuition increase, 16.5 percent would be used to provide financial aid.

Tuition at CSU-Pueblo, CSU's veterinary school and CU's Health Sciences Center would increase by 1.1 percent. State colleges and community colleges would also rise 1.1 percent.

But all the schools with the small increase would share a $20 million cut under the proposal.

Members of the Joint Budget Committee said the combined effects of two conflicting constitutional amendments that limit their spending authority are once again forcing them to balance the budget on the back of higher education.

Committee members delayed a vote on whether to endorse the tuition increases until they get a chance to review the budgets for other state departments this week.

Higher education is one of the few areas that the state isn't legally required to fund, so it has been hit with a deep cuts in recent years when money has been tight.

The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights limits how much money the state can take in and spend and Amendment 23 requires the state to spend a set amount on K-12 education each year, regardless of how much tax revenue the state receives.

Both are constitutional amendments and difficult to alter.

"If you don't change TABOR and Amendment 23, this is Colorado's future," said Rep. Brad Young, R-Lamar, the JBC chairman. "I just hope to God that people get this message."

Sergio Gonzales, the student body president at CU-Boulder, said the proposed increases would be devastating.

"A lot of middle income and lower income families will be left to decide between community college and no college at all. Being able to go to a quality higher educational institution like CU will not be an option for these people," said Gonzales, who has been helping organize rallies to generate support for higher education.

Tuition at Colorado's top universities is relatively low now, in part because any tuition increase now counts toward the revenue and spending limits imposed by TABOR.

The proposal being considered at the state Capitol would require making CU and CSU semiprivate institutions that get less than 10 percent of their support from the state. That would give them the power to raise tuition without forcing the state to issue refund checks to taxpayers.

Lawmakers are considering two bills that would give all state colleges and universities semiprivate or "enterprise" status. One would ask the voters to approve the change. The other would circumvent TABOR limits by issuing vouchers for each college student, instead of giving money to the institution.