HARRISBURG -- State budget negotiations have taken a step backward, House Democrats and Senate Republicans said today.

That's about the only thing they agree on.

Democratic House leaders say Senate Republicans reneged on a $27.99 billion budget compromise, but Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said he was not familiar with that figure.

"Any representation that we agreed to a spend number is simply not correct," he said. "You can't agree on a spend number without agreeing on what revenues are necessary to support that spend number. ... These issues can't be isolated out of context."

Both sides have been meeting behind closed doors, but those talks broke down today.

"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement," said House Speaker Keith McCall of Carbon County.

Next, House Democrats plan to call a meeting of a six-member conference committee that meets in public to hash out the differences between House and Senate spending plans. Last time the group met, members spent hours squabbling about who should be chairman, how sessions should be conducted and whether the meeting room was large enough.

"No one believes the conference committee will lead to a resolution to this budget," Mr. Pileggi said.

Mr. McCall and Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerene, said closed-door meetings have stalled and that a conference committee would allow the public to see how little Republicans are willing to compromise.

Mr. Eachus plans to invite experts from outside Pennsylvania to testify about how budget crises have affected their states.

The fiscal year began July 1 without a budget. On Aug. 5 Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bridge budget that provides for employee paychecks and essential services such as public safety.