The unfinished state budget is now the second longest budget delay in state history, with few agreements made and allegations by some Democratic lawmakers that Assembly Republicans intentionally created the budget impasse.
The entire Conference Committee that was dealing with the budget is no longer meeting, with negotiations now mainly between the Republican Assembly Speaker's office, the governor and the office of the Democratic Senate Majority Leader.
Since the Democrats dropped their universal health care proposal and the Assembly passed a bill related to school funding, no final agreements have been made within the past week. The budget delay became the second longest impasse on Saturday, with only a budget in 1971 taking longer, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
According to a memo by the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the current proposals by the Senate and the Assembly remain roughly $1 billion apart.
State Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, released a statement Friday and said he wondered if Assembly Republicans are intentionally creating the budget stalemate.
Pocan said a request by Assembly Republicans in March asking the LFB about the consequences of a stalled state budget shows the length of the budget delay is partially intentional.
It appears it has been the intention of the GOP to not have a budget from day one,"" Pocan said.
State Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, and state Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts, D-Middleton, also released statements Friday saying Republicans have not been negotiating in good faith.
Staskunas said a statement released by state Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, that stated Republicans would accept no budget until Christmas is evidence of a willingness to stall budget talks.
The allegation of intentionally slowing budget talks is a ""complete lie,"" according to state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, in response to claims he did not want a budget passed this legislative session.
Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said it is Democrat-leaning groups and the state Senate that are conspiring in an attempt to raise taxes.
""Republicans have been negotiating in good faith on behalf of taxpayers and shouldn't be intimidated by this last round of hysteria from phony interest groups,"" Jefferson said in a release.
