The House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee this morning narrowly approved a bill that would ask voters to increase the state sales tax by three-tenths of a penny to help pay for state health-care services.

House Bill 2377 passed by a 8 to 7 vote, bringing the proposal one step closer to a floor vote. But it's still not clear when - or if - that will happen.

The Legislature is writing a budget that reduces state spending by nearly $4 billion to balance the budget. State revenue has plummeted because of the recession. Lawmakers have been talking for months about possibly asking voters to increase taxes to buy back some of the cuts.

The proposal would raise about $486 million over the next two years. More than 80 percent of the money would help pay for several health care services, including long-term care, nursing homes and the Basic Health Plan, which provides subsidized insurance for low-income workers.

The remainder would be used to fund a so-called working-family tax credit to help offset the higher sales taxes paid by the working poor.