As supporters call it a �true compromise,� the Democratic-controlled Senate voted Tuesday to pass its budget plan in an effort to offset the state�s projected $652 million shortfall.

Included in the bill was a 0.7 percent tax on hospitals, which supporters say will bring in extra federal funding. Also, the bill will close a tax �loophole� bringing in $150 million.

In hopes of revitalizing the plan to build a commuter rail between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee, the bill would also raise the rental car tax in that area from $2 to $15. Lastly, the plan would put off some state funding set for June until July, originally included in the Assembly�s plan.

This comes weeks after the Republican-controlled Assembly and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle announced their plans. The three groups must now come to a compromise, since the versions are considerably different.

Senators and representatives will likely meet together in a joint committee to discuss the budget repair process. Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, and Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, met this afternoon to discuss the details.

Democratic leaders billed the plan as a compromise.

�We kept some of the things from the governor�s budget and some of the things from the Assembly budget,� said Decker spokesperson Carrie Lynch.

Republicans in both houses were less optimistic about the plan.

�The Democrats� plan kills jobs, kills business growth, and takes even more money away from Wisconsinites that are already cash-strapped,� said Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in a statement Tuesday. �By passing this bill, the Democrats are demanding that the eighth highest taxed people in the nation pay even more.�

Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said the repair process �should not replay the full budget discussion but focus on the shortfall at hand.�

The original biennium budget, signed in October by Doyle, was 117 days late. The repair process should not take nearly as long, Lynch said, although time is a concern.

�I don�t think it�s very likely that it will be as long and hard as last summer, but this isn�t going to get any easier the longer it takes,� she said. �Sen. Decker would like to get it done as soon as possible.�

Calls to Gov. Doyle�s office were not returned as of press time.