The Legislature's budget committee refused to allow domestic partner benefits for state employees.

On Tuesday, the committee voted along party lines to reject Governor Doyle's plan to make health insurance and other benefits available to the partners of gay and straight state employees.

Democrats were in favor of the plan but they failed to get the one Republican vote they needed to insert the policy into the budget.

Democrats who control the Senate are expected to push for the benefits in their version of the budget.

Representative Mark Pocan, a Madison Democrat, says UW-Madison is losing key researchers as a result of being the only university in the Big Ten Conference not to offer the benefits.

He accused Republicans of playing to their conservative base by opposing the plan.