By Jonathan Dube

HARTFORD -- AS TONIGHT'S MIDNIGHT DEADLINE approached, lawmakers remained embroiled in a bitter partisan stalemate over increasing the minimum wage, threatening to derail some of the session's most ambitious legislation.

Senate Democrats continued to filibuster into the wee hours of this morning, trying to force Republicans who control the chamber to bring the minimum wage bill to a vote.

But Senate Republican leaders refused to budge, clearly aware of the political volatility of the minimum wage. While they oppose the proposal to increase the wage to $5.15 from $4.27, polls show voters overwhelmingly support an increase. And with the end of the session looming, each hour of debate made it increasingly unlikely that other business would ever reach a vote.

Legislation awaiting action includes bills to create charter schools, reform the managed-care industry, impose a ban on gifts to legislators, create a curfew for young drivers, restrict children's access to cigarettes and reduce the gas tax.

But first and foremost, the legislature must pass roughly a dozen budget-related bills needed to enact the $10.14 billion budget passed last week.

The Senate spent the past two days slowly, but surely, moving those bills through its chamber, while Democrats talked and talked and talked.

The political wrangling began Monday, after Republican leaders made it clear they had no intention of letting the minimum wage bill come to a vote. Democrats proceeded to slow down debate, making it difficult for anything to get accomplished.

One by one, Senate Democrats took the floor, questioning and debating minute details of each bill. As a result, the senators stayed on the floor from 3 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday. But over those 16 hours, they passed only six bills. Yesterday, the same thing happened all over again.

By midnight last night, the Senate had been debating for seven hours and had passed only three bills. The stalling became painfully clear during an hour-long debate over whether school buses should be required to have white roofs before districts can receive air-conditioning subsidies. The debate became so repetitive and longwinded at times that Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who presides over the Senate, felt obliged to urge Democrats to curtail their words.

"Gentleman, though I encourage debate, I would encourage you to not be redundant and repeat things already said by two, four, six, eight, 10 speakers," said an irritated Rell, a former representative from Brookfield.

While on the surface the minimum wage debate is over whether it would help workers or help businesses, in the Senate it boils down to politics.

With elections only six months away, Senate Democrats feel they have a can't-lose issue on their hands. And they desperately want to win back control of the Senate from the Republicans, who own a 19-17 majority.

Republicans, on the other hand, are doing everything they can to avoid a vote on an measure polls say voters support, but which has little support in the business community. Moreover, several Republicans have hinted that they might break ranks on the issue, which means that if it comes up for a vote, the bill probably will pass.

And while Gov. John G. Rowland has promised to veto any increase in the minimum wage, he'd rather not do that, for political reasons. In fact, Democrats accused Rowland of instructing Sen. Majority Leader James Fleming, R-Simsbury, to make sure the bill doesn't come to a vote.

Because Republicans control the Senate and set the agenda, they get to decide which bills are brought to a vote. The filibuster is effectively the only tool the minority party has to put on pressure.

And while it's unlikely the Republicans will budge, the filibuster clearly is irritating them.

Senate President Pro Tempore M. Adela Eads, R-Kent, tried to negotiate with Democratic leaders, but the talks were futile. The 75-year-old senator didn't seem at all tired by the long nights, but she did seem a bit frustrated.

"In the years that I've been here, I've never seen a filibuster like this," said Eads.

Rowland's comments were a bit more biting.

"Senate Democrats have been thorns in everyone's side since day one," Rowland said. "This is their final hour to wreak havoc."

Democratic leaders, though, tried to shift blame to the Republicans, saying they could end the filibuster at any time by calling the minimum wage bill for a vote.

Senate Minority Leader William DiBella, D-Hartford, acknowledged that the filibuster could jeopardize passage of other bills, but said that was a chance his party was willing to take.

"We'd have to be foolish to tell you it wasn't a risk," DiBella said. "Of course it's a risk. But we are doing what we think is best for the people of Connecticut."

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