With a pivotal deadline fast approaching, state budget talks broke down Tuesday when a top Democrat stormed out of a key meeting and others declared their frustration that the group had made no progress toward an agreement over deep cuts and tax increases.
The apparently fruitless closed-door gathering came five days before a June 15 constitutional deadline for the Legislature to approve a budget and with Wall Street closely watching how California plans to fill an unprecedented budget hole.

Legislative leaders and Gov. Gray Davis emerged from the meeting doubting that Sunday's deadline will be met, fueling questions whether Democrats and Republicans could smooth over their political differences before the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

"I, for one, am a little disappointed that we are not further along," Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson said after the reportedly rancorous meeting.

In years past, the meetings have been used to hash out agreements on major issues such as tax increases and proposed health and transportation cuts.

But Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, known for his volatility and cursing, abruptly left after less than 15 minutes, declaring, "I just don't think talking, talking, talking is going to do it anymore."

It's not the forum where a budget agreement will be reached, Burton said.

He and others also expressed doubts that the Sunday deadline, which has only been met four times in the past quarter-century, would be met this year.

"I've never believed in the June 15 deadline," Burton said. "June 30 is the end of the fiscal year and that's the deadline."

After the meeting, Davis told reporters he was unsure he could persuade Republican lawmakers to cast enough votes to approve a budget containing tax increases.

"There were some earlier meetings in which I believed they would. If you had to ask me today, I would say they wouldn't," Davis said. "While I don't think we made progress today, I am still optimistic that I'll be able to sign a budget by July 1."

The sticking point, according to those who attended, continues to be Davis' proposal to raise taxes for smokers, shoppers and the wealthy to help fill a budget shortfall expected to swell to $38 billion. Republicans have called for a budget that relies on cuts and up to $10 billion in borrowing, but no tax increases.

"It is obvious to me that we don't have a fiscal problem, we have a political problem," Wesson said.

Assembly GOP leader Dave Cox of Fair Oaks said the Republican position on taxes has not changed.

"Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't seem to understand that there are not six votes in the Assembly Republican caucus for tax increases," Cox said.

Democrats hold a majority in both houses of the Legislature, but Republican votes are needed in each chamber to achieve the required two-thirds approval of a budget.

Meanwhile, a two-house committee working through other budget issues continued to meet into the night Tuesday -- two days past the deadline its chairwoman set for the group to complete its work.

The committee was working to reconcile disagreements on routine items in the budget while leaders meet on broader issues.

But the conference committee has failed to shave substantially from a legislative plan that restored dollars that the Democratic governor proposed to cut from health and other programs, and Republicans complained they are being shut out of the process.