The Wisconsin state Legislature remains unable to reach an agreement on the 2007-09 state budget, with little progress having been made over the summer.
Wisconsin is the only state in the nation not to have a finished budget for the states with a fiscal year that started July 1.
It's all on the table right now,"" said Josh Westcott, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, referring to the fact that few compromises have been made between the Assembly and Senate versions of the budget.
Republicans control the Assembly, while Democrats control the Senate.
According to Westcott, there is an $85 million difference between the two versions of K-12 funding alone.
Of the items agreed upon, many take up very little spending in comparison to other parts of the budget.
More than 570 items have been largely approved, yet they make up barely one percent of the spending allocated in the budget, according to Seth Boffeli, spokesperson for Assembly Minority Leader James Kreuser, D-Kenosha.
""There really haven't been any compromises,"" Boffeli said.
UW system and K-12 funding, different health care proposals and a proposed cigarette tax are but a few of the issues unresolved, according to Boffeli.
Boffeli also said more behind the scenes conversations have been taking place as the process continues into September, but no official agreements have been made.
The intent of the Assembly's version of the budget is to pass a proposal that has no new taxes according to John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem.
""Democrats passed a budget with a $18 billion tax increase,"" Murray said.
Passage of the budget in September is still a possibility according to Murray.
Westcott said one reason for a lack of compromise was that the Assembly removed many items that had been agreed on by the bipartisan Joint Finance Committee.
""We're asking them to simply agree to these things they previously agreed upon,"" Westcott said.
The health care plan proposed by the Senate is a major point of contention, according to Westcott. The plan gives ""low cost, high quality"" health care, modeled on the type received by state legislators, to every Wisconsin citizen.
""We hear time and time again that health care is the number one issue [to voters],"" Westcott said.
The Conference Committee, made up of legislative leaders from the Assembly and Senate, meets again Aug. 30 to discuss the budget.
