MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin lawmakers are continuing budget negotiations but with no end in sight.

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The delay is making Wisconsin stand out in more ways than one. Only two other states in the country are still without a budget since the start of the July 1 fiscal year. Those two states are Illinois and California.

In the past 40 years in Wisconsin, there have only been four other times when a budget wasn't done by this point in the year. The last time it went this late was 1999 when it got passed on Oct. 6.

A bipartisan committee of lawmakers from both the Assembly and Senate has agreed to little so far. Members of the panel of eight Republicans and Democrats from the Assembly and Senate have spent most of their time defending their own proposals rather than negotiating a compromise.

Until there is a deal, current spending levels continue.

Frustration is growing among those dependant on a decision from the eight powerful lawmakers on the committee.

"They're not doing nothing. Meeting, that's it. Meeting after meeting and nothing's been accomplished," said corrections worker Dale Pierce.

Pierce came to Madison from Oshkosh to see what was being done to come up with a compromise.

"There are lots of things going on that we'd like some answers to," Pierce said.

Wisconsin Resource Center state employee Bonnie Manske said she is frustrated lawmakers seem content to sling political rhetoric rather than come up with a meaningful budget deal.

"This is our whole lives here," Manske said. "I would hope it's not a game. It sure isn't to us."

Madison Metropolitan School District lobbyist Joe Quick said school districts will be concerned if state lawmakers can't reach a budget deal by mid-October. That's when property taxes need to be finalized and sent out to taxpayers.

The Senate majority leader is defending lawmakers' slow progress on the state budget.

Majority Leader Judy Robson said that constituents are gaining insight into the different spending priorities of Democrats and Republicans with the WisconsinEye network's live television coverage of the negotiations. She called the negotiation process "very healthy."

So far, the biggest agreement the committee made is to accept 571 items that both the Senate and Assembly already approved. About $10 billion in differences remain.