Madison School City Council / BOE Liason Committee

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, dismissed the Senate changes as a "bar-time amendment" concocted by majority Republicans in the middle of the night last week to "purchase" the final two votes needed as that chamber approved the budget, 17-16.

He chided the Assembly for going along with the changes, saying they would hurt the public, state employees and Wisconsin troops.

Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, professed no love for the Senate changes, either, dismissing them as gimmicks crafted to appease two Republican senators. But he said the heart of the GOP-crafted budget -- property tax limits and cuts to the taxes on Social Security benefits and gas -- remained intact and that outweighed the negatives.

"I believe the heart and soul of this budget is intact," Gard said.

The budget now goes to Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, who can approve it, veto portions of it or reject the entire document.

The state faces a $1.6 billion shortfall for the two-year period through June 30, 2007. The budget would fix that shortfall through a series of spending cuts, accounting moves and fee increases.

Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, and the Assembly backed a different version of the budget last month. But the Senate made several changes last week to get the 17 votes needed for passage. The GOP controls the chamber 19-14; two Republicans voted against the budget while two others refused to back it without the changes.

The changes inserted by the Senate include a tax credit for parents who adopt a child, which would eventually cost the state $7.5 million a year; requiring nonunion state employees to contribute the first 1.5 percent paid toward their retirements, costing about 30,000 employees $42.2 million over the next two years; and an additional $100 million reduction in the budgets of state agencies over the next two years.

Agencies would be able to apply to get $96 million of that money back if the Legislature's budget committee approved the request.

Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, called the cut to agencies particularly repugnant because it would mean a $303,900 reduction to the Department of Military Affairs that oversees the Wisconsin National Guard.

Schneider called Republicans hypocrites for putting slogans and banners in the windows of their cars supporting U.S. troops while they are at war, and then voting to cut their funding.

"This is one hell of a way to support our troops, isn't it? You ought to be ashamed," Schneider said.

Republicans countered the money was not a cut because the Department of Military Affairs could still apply to have it reinstated. Assembly Assistant Majority Leader Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, noted the overall budget for Military Affairs would increase by $26 million over the next two years to $143 million, even with the $303,900 that would be held back.

"The fact is that this body recognizes the importance of our veterans and our military personnel and has given them an increase that rivals anything else that we've done in this budget," Huebsch said.

Other provisions inserted into the budget by the Senate include:

* The restoration of $7.3 million in sales tax revenue retailers receive for processing paperwork related to reporting sales tax revenues. The Legislature's budget committee had reduced how much retailers would be compensated.

* A tax credit for parents who teach their children at home or send them to private school, saving those parents $14.6 million a year.

* A reduction in state money for UW-Madison by $1 million over the two-year period. Republicans have been upset over a series of decisions made by the school, including paying top-level administrator Paul Barrows his almost $200,000 a year salary while he was on leave and looking for another job.

\ Budget at a glance

The vote: The Senate approved the document, after changes were made, 17-16. The Assembly concurred on the amended version, 52-43.

What's next: Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, gets the budget now. He can approve the budget, veto parts of it or reject the entire thing.