The new Wisconsin Legislature is like a teeter-totter: Just a little more weight on either side could tip the balance.

During the November elections, Wisconsin voters re-elected a Democratic governor. Democrats also hold a 18 to 15 advantage in the State Senate, but Republicans lead 52 to 47 in the State Assembly.

With the state government split down the middle, Madison politicians are talking compromise for the upcoming two-year term.

But it's not going to be easy. Gov. Jim Doyle will submit his budget for consideration in February, and it will be subject to much discussion and debate in the Legislature. Even though many politicians are promising bipartisanship, the result could be a lot messier.

"Republicans and Democrats have an agreement on the issues that need to be addressed, but differ on how to address them," said Mike Prentiss, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).

Legislators have until the end of June to decide on a budget. The 2007-'09 budget will take effect July 1. The following four topics are the issues everyone in Madison will be talking about.

Health care

The No. 1 issue for the Legislature is probably going to be health care. During his inaugural address Jan. 3, Gov. Doyle announced his intention of funding health insurance for all children.

An aide to Assembly Minority Leader James Kreuser (D-Kenosha), who asked not to be identified, said he expects the health care proposal for all children to be included in the governor's budget, and that it will be one of the first bills introduced by Senate Democrats if it's not.

Joshua Wescott, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Judith Robson (D-Beloit), agreed that "lots of attention" will be given to health care in the upcoming session. He said Sen. Robson is interested in a "sweeping conversation" about comprehensive health care reform.

Many Republicans believe the consumer, not the government, should have health care spending power.

Prentiss said there are more ideas than there are actual proposals. He said he will be looking for the "meat on the bones" of the governor's proposals when the budget is introduced.

Education

Half of the total state budget dollars in Madison go to education; more than 40 percent of all state spending is dedicated to K-12 education alone.

Gov. Doyle is promoting his Wisconsin Covenant plan, which would guarantee a spot in a Wisconsin college for students who sign pledges during eighth grade promising to maintain good grades and be good citizens. Marquette is one of several private schools in Wisconsin that signed onto the plan.

Higher education proposals will have to guarantee affordability and access in order to gain support, Wescott said.

Cigarette tax

There has also been talk this winter of increasing the current 77 cent tax on a pack of cigarettes by one dollar.

The cigarette tax issue has been around for a couple of sessions, according to Sen. Kreuser's aide, who said the governor "seems to have opened the door" on reintroducing the issue.

"Sen. Robson has an open mind to this as long as there are protections in place for what it's intended to fund," Wescott said. The tax should be used as a tool to lower health care costs, he said.

Other lawmakers are not so enthused about raising taxes -any taxes.

"The problem is not that we don't have enough in taxes," said Prentiss. "(The cigarette tax increase) is not the way to solve problems. We need to find ways to pay using the resources we currently have."

Stem cell research

Having been endorsed by actor and activist Michael J. Fox for his support of embryonic stem cell research, Gov. Doyle continued to push for further support of the research during his inaugural address.

But sources say there really is not much the Legislature can do regarding research funding. Most of the action on stem cells will take place on the federal level. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Jan. 11 to fund embryonic stem cell research.

Kreuser's aide said most research has been funded by federal grants given to private researchers, and Wisconsin has not done direct funding.

The construction of the Institutes of Discovery at UW-Madison is among the governor's plans for biomedical and stem cell research.

Moving forward together

"You'll see a lot more (bipartisanship) this session," Prentiss said. "Control in the Legislature is split. For any legislation to be passed and signed by the governor, by definition, it has to have a bipartisan agreement."

Wescott said the ethics legislation is an example of how the Legislature can work together.

"Everybody had their piece of the pie here in putting this together. That's a great tone for the beginning," he said.