GOP Senate leader says he doesn't have votes to pass budget

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he doesn't have the 17 votes required yet to pass the state budget.

Fitzgerald said Tuesday he thinks there are at least 15 senators who will vote for the $76 billion budget. Republicans control the Senate 20-13.

Fitzgerald says he hopes to have the votes needed to take up the budget on Friday. The Assembly is voting on the two-year spending plan on Wednesday.

Fitzgerald says he would prefer that any changes needed to secure votes of Republican senators be done on Wednesday in the Assembly so the Senate could take a final vote on passage this Friday.

He says concerns of Republicans unwilling to vote for the budget at this point is a "mixed bag" but they want to pass it "and there's a willingness to work with leadership to make that happen."

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