Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday that he will call the full Wisconsin State Legislature into special session on a compromise budget bill Oct. 15 if the legislature fails to pass a state budget by that time.

The budget was scheduled for completion in July but has hit numerous roadblocks because of disagreements on spending and tax increases within the State Assembly and Senate.

Doyle's announcement comes in response to the slowdown of recent compromises between the Republican-controlled Assembly and the Democrat-controlled Senate, said Carla Vigue, spokeswoman for Doyle's office.

"In the last two weeks, they have made quite a bit of progress, but Republicans are now backing away from their previous agreements," Vigue said.

"The Democrats had given up money on health care and the Republicans had agreed to a cigarette tax. Now, Republicans have publicly said a budget is not even needed."

Vigue said Republicans have said a budget is not even needed.

State Sen. Alberta Darling, a Republican member of the Joint Finance Committee, said not passing a budget has never been a part of the Republican agenda.

"I don't know how in the world that started," said Darling, whose 8th district includes Germantown, Mequon and Menomonee Falls. "It's a good idea that the governor is getting involved in this, because we need to have some compromises."

Major issues dividing the parties include providing health care to more children and working families, increasing the gas tax on profits by major oil companies and changing the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, a program that allows students to attend both private and public schools located in Milwaukee at no charge. These factors place a heavier burden on Milwaukee taxpayers, said Rep. Pedro Colon, a Milwaukee Democrat.

According to Darling, at the start of negotiations Democrats in the House proposed a 23 percent increase in spending and taxes. Republicans in the Assembly desired a zero percent increase, she said, and Doyle suggested a plan with 8 percent increases.

"When you start off so far apart, how do you find common ground?" she said. "It's a very serious issue."

Failure to pass a budget will especially impact the University of Wisconsin System because the colleges operate on a one-year budget and cannot wait to pay expenses, Darling said.

"Based on this (one-year budget), state universities will run out of money by April 2008," Vigue said. "Tuition could increase by $800 for next semester if there is no budget in place."

Students within the UW System have also been impacted by the lack of budget in terms of financial aid, she said.

"Over 500 kids are on the waitlist for financial aid," she said. "Without a budget, there is no money to give them and they have had to look into other means of payment."

Without a budget, towns and schools will assume they have no money and will raise taxes such as property tax, Colon said.

Property tax bills must be certified and mailed by the end of October. If a budget agreement has not been reached by then, families are likely to be overtaxed and the state will later waste time and money on refunds, according to Colon.

Though areas like financial aid and property taxes may be negatively impacted, a government shutdown, as threatened earlier this year in Michigan and Illinois, is not an option for Wisconsin. The state has been operating on figures from the previous budget since July and will continue to do so. While no increases in funding have been made, the government still has money available. This policy makes a government shutdown impossible, according to Darling.

If Doyle's compromise bill fails to pass, further negotiations will occur in committee or the Legislature will amend the bill, Darling said.