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Assembly to take up budget at 10 a.m. Friday

Jun 12, 10:07 AM EDT
By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- After Democratics met in secret for four days, the Assembly was set to begin debate Friday of the state's $62.2 billion state budget.

There's plenty in the budget for both sides to dislike, including more than $2 billion in tax and fee increases along with cuts that could result in 1,4000 state workers losing their jobs.

But Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, said Thursday night he believes at least 50 Democrats are willing to vote for the budget. Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, also said he believed there were enough votes to pass it.

There are 52 Democrats in the Assembly and one of them, Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer of Manitowoc, has said he likely would vote against it.

Democrats had hoped to begin budget debate Thursday morning, but after meeting all day to iron out additional changes they wanted to make, they decided around 8 p.m. to wait until Friday morning.

"We're confident we're going to pass a budget (Friday)," Sheridan said. He called the four days of mostly closed door deliberations among Democrats "very challenging," but said it ultimately produced a balanced plan that at least 50 lawmakers could support.

Sheridan said Democrats decided to push off debate for a day to give Republicans a chance to review all the changes they were proposing to the version that advanced last month out of the Joint Finance Committee.

Republicans remain opposed to the budget because of the tax and fee increases and other changes that result in an overall 6.3 spending increase over two years, said Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon. That increase is due largely to the state receiving $3.7 billion in federal stimulus money.

Fitzgerald said he did not believe any of the 46 Republicans in the Assembly would vote for the budget.

Under the budget, the price of gasoline likely will be raised 4 cents a gallon, cigarette taxes will go up 75 cents per pack and a new 75-cent per month fee on all phone users will be imposed.

It would also raise income taxes on households earning more than $300,000 a year, force state workers to take 16 unpaid days off over two years, and lay off up to 1,400 state employees.

The budget also makes numerous policy changes including giving special drivers licenses/cards to illegal immigrants so they can legally drive in Wisconsin, allow in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, allowing same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships, and letting prison inmates earn time off of their sentence for good behavior.

There are no general sales or income tax increases. Doyle and other Democrats have championed the budget as protecting middle class taxpayers in light of the nationwide recession that contributed to a record-high budget shortfall in Wisconsin.

The Senate will debate the budget after it passes the Assembly. If a different version passes each house, a conference committee of lawmakers will have to meet to come up with a compromise.

Once both houses pass the budget, the governor can rework it through his vetoes.

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