LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Hours of closed door meetings and rare displays of public pressure yesterday were failing to resolve Michigan's state government budget crisis.

But the chambers remained in session late into the evening, building speculation that an agreement was close on how to fill an estimated $1.7 billion deficit for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The Republican-led Senate joined Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm in urging the Democrat-controlled House to vote on a tax increase, which some say is necessary to avoid drastic program cuts or a state government shutdown next month.

Democrats and Republicans from the 38-member Senate left their chamber together and converged on the 110-member House in the late afternoon. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm also was on the House floor trying to persuade representatives, mostly Republicans, to pass a tax hike.

"There's a bipartisan effort from the Senate to encourage the House to move the revenue bill and to do it in a bipartisan way," said Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) while standing in the House chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) said he would wait on House action "as long as it takes for them to do something."

"Everything's in place," he added. "The question is now: What are they going to do?"

Despite the pressure, the House didn't immediately plan any major votes yesterday to raise taxes. Democratic House leaders asked the senators to leave so they could begin to take some relatively minor budget-related votes, clearly unmoved by the display.