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HELENA - The stalemate over the state's social services budget continued Monday, prompting nonpartisan legislative staffers to warn lawmakers the new budget process advanced by Republicans could cause unforeseen problems.

The Republican budget bill covering the $3 billion Department of Public Health and Human Services, House Bill 808, has been sent back to committee - while other budget bills have already been sent to the Senate.

Legislative staff sent leaders a letter Monday saying they previously warned them that the entire budget needs to move as a package to ensure that errors aren't made. The computer system used to double-check budget language and spending plans is unable to comprehend separate spending bills, wrote legislative fiscal analyst Clayton Schenck.

“It will leave the Legislature at higher risk of an error that could impact public policy and the possible need for a special session,” Schenck wrote. “It would also leave staff in a position of assuming a level of risk of error we find troubling.”

Democrats said the memo confirms their worries about the Republican plan to kill House Bill 2 and move with several budget bills.

“It shows that dividing the bills apart provides needless complication that creates risk,” said House Minority Leader John Parker, D-Great Falls.

Republicans say the concerns are overstated, and have steadfastly stuck with a budget process they say promises to shed more light on each budget piece.

While Republicans have been able to advance the other seven pieces of their budget without any votes from Democrats, it appears more likely they are unable to get enough votes within their own caucus to move the DPHHS budget.

In an effort to gain the key support of Constitution Party Rep. Rick Jore, Republican leaders had plans to strip the entire DPHHS budget to just $300. But they backed off Saturday as it became clear they might lose support from some Republicans with such a move.

They told Democrats they wanted to work with them in committee on the DPHHS budget, an offer that suspicious Democrats have not embraced. Democrats want to return to Gov. Brian Schweitzer's budget offering contained in House Bill 2.

The House has until March 29 to send spending bills to the Senate.

Senate President Mike Cooney said he will not start work on the budget pieces until he gets all of them, when he hopes to shift debate away from the multiple budget bill process onto the actual content.

“I am not sure anybody really knows what these bills have as spending priorities,” he said. “That's where I want to return the debate.”

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