In the midst of the continuing budget chaos, a new bill to divide the state budget and pass each aspect separately through bipartisan committees is being drafted by Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills.

Darling recently announced her plan to write a proposal for joint appropriations committees in hopes of increasing cooperation between the Republican-controlled Assembly and Democratic-controlled Senate.

As the 2007-09 state budget is more than 100 days late, David Volz, spokesperson for Darling said, "Both sides of the political spectrum are frustrated."

Under Darling’s plan, the amount of funding designated for each committee would be set by the governor and Legislature as a result of information gained from the Department of Administration and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

These committees can amend the governor’s proposal, but would still be required to follow the funding level given to their committee by the governor.

"Using expertise of standing committees gives legislators a good opportunity to craft changes," Volz said.

The final bills would then be passed separately in the Senate and Assembly. Volz said Darling believes her plan will result in an overall "smoother budget process."

Darling’s proposal calls for each committee to house legislators from both the Assembly and Senate. This plan differs from the current practice where the Assembly creates one budget proposal and the Senate another.

Volz said Darling thinks her proposal will help prevent future budget delays by requiring both parties to work together. He added the budget stalemate is a result of different budget proposals coming out of the Assembly and Senate. With joint committees, Democrats and Republicans would work together.

"There is not going to be such drastic differences," Volz said.

Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said Darling’s proposal is unlike many other proposed pieces of budget legislation.

"It’s strange to put a budget together on a piecemeal approach," McCabe said. "The problem is Legislature, not the structure of the budget."

McCabe added the Legislature is currently paralyzed in the budget process.

The budget delay, McCabe said, is being used as a fundraising tool for politicians, and currently, legislators do not face any repercussions for missing the budget deadline.

"There is a huge incentive to delay budget process as along a possible, because interest groups have a stake in the state budget," McCabe said.

Four Democratic legislators recently proposed a different method to achieve similar ends, as their proposal also aims to curb future budget stalemates.

Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, co-introduced the bill earlier this month. He said a law governing the conference committee is needed because currently, there are no penalties imposed on legislators for failing to pass a state budget.

"Under this proposal, we have a direct mechanism that forces the conference committee to the table," Parisi said in a previous interview with The Badger Herald. "If you lock these people in a room and tell them they’re not coming out until they have a budget, we’re going to have a budget."