The authors of drunken driving reform bills in the Assembly and Senate are trying to work out a compromise to get legislation passed before the legislative floor session ends next week.

If negotiations bear fruit, the legislation could be up for a vote Tuesday before the Joint Finance Committee.

The Assembly passed a bill last month that enhanced drunken driving penalties and funded the new standards by transferring money from existing funds. When the proposal left the Assembly, it was expected to cost about $20 million per year.

After a new fiscal estimate was released that showed the cost of the bill to be about $70 million per year, a Senate committee passed a proposal that funded the reforms in part with a 50-cent per liter increase in the liquor tax. Assembly Democrats have balked at the tax increase, while Senate Democrats say it would be fiscally irresponsible to pass a bill without fully funding it.

The Senate bill was scheduled to come before the JFC today, but was pulled as the companion bill's authors, Rep. Tony Staskunas and Sen. Jim Sullivan, both Democrats from Wauwatosa, work to find a resolution.

Carrie Lynch, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, said the Senate Dems are not dug in on the liquor tax.

"Everything's still on the table," she said.

"We're still working on some stuff to make sure we can get this passed through both houses quickly," Lynch said.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said the two sides are not far apart on the issue. But questions remain about what exactly the bill will cost. He also said the Assembly bill offers more treatment options than the Senate bill, and there may be ways to tap into Medicaid or private insurance for treatment costs to bring down the price tag of the bill overall.

Pocan, the co-chair of the JFC, said if a resolution can't be found before the session ends next week, he's confident reforms will pass before the end of the legislative session in late May. There could also be a conference committee formed to find a compromise if the authors and JFC fail to come up with a solution.

"I don't know anyone who's trying to kill the bill," Pocan said.

But Pocan added, "I think if we don't get it done by the end of the session, there's a (political) price to pay.

-- A bill to publicly fund state Supreme Court campaigns, called the Impartial Justice Bill, is set for a vote Tuesday by the JFC.

Pocan said details are still being worked out on how to fund the proposal. He said he prefers an "opt out" box in tax return forms that taxpayers would have to check to not contribute to a Supreme Court campaign fund.

-- The JFC today passed a handful of bills without much discussion, including regulations for dog breeders and creating a license requirement for X-ray machine operators and radiographers.

But companion bills to change some procedures for the revocation or suspension of a driver's license drew some fire from Republicans, who said they were too easy on drunken drivers.

Rep. Robin Vos, one of four Republicans to vote against the legislation, said the changes would be "bad for employers and weak on drunk drivers."

Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, one of the authors of the legislation, said the changes were requested by the Department of Transportation to help to streamline their processes.

Currently, a judge is required to confiscate a person's license upon an order of suspension or revocation and forward it to the DOT. The bills would end that requirement, though a judge would still be allowed to take the license. In addition, the bills would require the DOT to waive additional fees when the license is reissued.

The bills also end the requirement that police seize a driver's license upon arrest for driving under the influence.

-- By Greg Bump