The state budget will likely not get to the Assembly until next Wednesday and it could take two days to get the bill out of the house, Speaker Mike Sheridan and Rep. Mark Pocan said today in a media availability.

Sheridan said today that his goal is to make sure there are enough Dem votes in his house to pass the state budget, but he will also reach out to Republicans who want to vote for the bill.

Sheridan said the "historic" cuts in the budget should appeal to GOP members.

"We'll take any yes votes we can get whether it's from independents, Republicans or of course our Democratic colleagues," Sheridan said.

"I hope that we can count on some Republican votes with all the cuts in this budget. This is what they ask for all the time," Sheridan said. "But what I've seen so far I'm not counting on that."

One Dem, Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer of Manitowoc, told WisPolitics today that the combination of liability law changes and tax and fee increases make him almost certain to be a "no" vote.

"It would have to be changed more dramatically than you could probably imagine for me to vote for it," Ziegelbauer said.

"I'm off (the budget) today. You never 100 percent, but it's pretty close to that."

Democrats have a slim 52-46 majority in the Assembly with one independent, Rep. Jeff Wood. The budget would need at least 50 votes to pass the Assembly, and with Ziegelbauer's apparent vote against the bill, that majority becomes even more tenuous.

Sheridan said he had talked with one member who told him he would not be voting for the budget. He didn't want to name the person, but he offered, "I was not surprised by that response."

Sheridan said he has been meeting with veteran Assembly members in the last couple of weeks "to talk about process and figure just how we're going to get this budget passed."

Pocan, the co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, said the floor session is likely to take two days because Republicans have told him "they want to make a circus of this." He said he's been told that Republicans may have as many as 700 amendments.

Sheridan said Assembly Dems will caucus on Thursday to get a briefing from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau on the JFC bill. He said the caucus will largely be open but there may be times when they "run into some sensitivity" and close the caucus. Another caucus is scheduled for Monday to go through amendments that caucus members may have to offer.

-- Pocan and Sheridan did not offer details about how specific provisions in the budget may be changed, saying that they want to first run the proposals through the caucus.

On the oil franchise fee Pocan, who said he had some reservations about the anti-pass through piece of that proposal at the last JFC meeting, said that his goal is to make it a "rock solid" revenue stream, and believes that going after oil company profits is a good way to ensure money will flow into the transportation fund. Not ensuring a funding source for the fund would create a $270 million hole in the fund, Pocan said.

"I think we're looking at all options," Pocan said. "The biggest question out there is the pass through language. If we're going to do something that's going to be unconstitutional and is not going to bring in the revenues we need to that's going to be a problem ... We completely agree with the funding source, we just want to make sure that it actually happens and that the dollars are there for transportation and infrastructure."

The Dems also discussed earmarks, the "Columbus Park fix," funding for the Department of Justice, and other provisions.

Listen to the media availability here.

-- On a side note, Sheridan, the former head of the UAW in Janesville, did not rule out the possibility that the budget could be amended to provide more incentive for General Motors to pick the assembly plant in his hometown to manufacture their new car.

The plant is one of three in the running for the new product line, it was announced yesterday. There is already an incentive-laden package on the table to GM, but Sheridan said the state is exploring more enticements to the automaker.

"There is a possibility (of amending the budget,)" he said. "I don't want to get out in front of the governor on this stuff, but I know we agree we need to do everything possible to enhance our chances for that product."

-- By Greg Bump