State Senate Democrats announced a plan Friday to bring back the property tax rebate checks scrapped from the budget, much to the relief of many who say they rely on the money.

Gov. David Paterson scrapped the STAR rebate program because he said it cost too much. State senators Jeff Klein (D-Westchester) and Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) say their play to restore STAR would cost about $1.5 billion and they?ve already figured out how to pay for it.

"There's no silver bullet to solving the problem of property tax relief,? Klein says. ?There needs to be a comprehensive approach."

"We can pay for it and we can pay for it rather simply,? Johnson says.

The Democrats say $600 million would come from the state?s rainy day fund, $500 million from cigarette tax revenue sharing and $400 million from the tax amnesty program. They are also proposing a circuit breaker tax credit, which means those who make less than $250,000 a year and pay more than 6 percent of their income in school taxes will get a tax credit. Under the plan, homeowners would get either the STAR rebate or the circuit breaker tax credit, whichever one is larger.

State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) calls the plan ?a day late and a dollar short.?