The House shot down four proposed Republican-backed amendments to the budget this afternoon.

And just seconds before sending the budget to the Senate, Republicans stopped it from being moved down the hall so two more amendments could be considered.

Republicans expressed frustration that Democrats are trying to quickly pass the $190 million supplemental budget. Democrats want to get a budget enacted tonight to avoid cuts that could take effect on Tuesday.

“This process has been hurried up quite a bit,” said Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison.

Democrats shot down these four Republican amendments:

* one would have fully restored funding to the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability;
*another would have reallocated special-education money to certain towns;
*a third was the Republican version of the budget that replaced “six one-time reductions with structural changes that would achieve the same effect,” said Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford; and
*the fourth would have cut travel funding for University of Maine System

At 5:44 p.m., the House bell rang to call them back to session.

UPDATE: House awaits amendments

The House came back into session shortly before 3 p.m. to get the budget moving again and in a position where amendments could be offered.

Democrats are planning to reintroduce virtually the same budget that passed the House last week. The $190 million proposal includes $65 million in cuts to human services and $34 million from education.

The major difference is this version does not include a hospital tax component.

House Minority Leader Josh Tardy, R-Newport, objected to not sending the $190 million budget to the Appropriations Committee first and called for a roll call. On an 80-55 vote, Democrats voted not to send the document to the committee.

Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison, asked for someone to explain what’s in the 400 page document.

“Can anyone guarantee me what the specific, accurate changes are?” he said on the floor of the House. “This bill just came on my desk. It’s still warm.”

Sykes also asked if amendments would be allowed.

House Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, said they would be allowed and that they would recess until “the sound of the bell” so all amendments could be printed.

UPDATE: Dems propose fresh start

Democratic leaders just told House members that the way to get the $190 million supplemental budget passed is to start from scratch.

Basically, the House is expected to come in at 2 p.m. to begin consideration of a new budget bill that is exactly like the Democratic majority budget. It will have one amendment, the one that restores some funding to the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability.

Then, a separate bill with a hospital tax and match proposal will be introduced as a separate document. That bill raises money to offset some of the cuts to mental health services.

If it’s not part of the budget and gets bipartisan support, Gov. John Baldacci will “probably” sign it, said his spokesman David Farmer.

The plan is to get the Democratic version of the budget passed by midnight to avoid more serious cuts.

Senate tables budget
At 10:47 a.m., the Senate tabled the budget without discussion.

Word has it that a compromise is in the works, but details cannot be released yet. The House is breaking for partisan caucuses and will reconvene at 2 p.m.

All eyes on Senate

The Senate is scheduled to come in at 10 a.m., but whether they will take up the budget right away is uncertain.

Late Friday afternoon, the Senate abruptly adjourned because there wasn’t enough support to pass the $190 million supplemental budget. The pressure is on today because if they don’t pass something by midnight, a curtailment order will go into effect that cuts spending even more severely than either the Democratic or the Republican budgets.

Check back for updates throughout the day as things unfold.